Wasteland: The Left Fist
by SeththeGreat
Summary: The Committee has been defeated, but the journey isn't over yet. There's still things to be done, questions to be answered, people who's fates are still uncertain. Snake and his friends must struggle to find answers while keeping wasteland safe. Safe from? They're not sure yet, all they know is that something's coming... (Sequel to Wasteland)
1. Preparations

**Just for those who are unaware, this is a sequel to my story** _ **Wasteland**_ **. If you haven't read that, I recommend you do that before reading this so you'll know what's going on.**

* * *

 _It's been a month since the organization known as the Committee was defeated and destroyed by Solid Snake and his allies. Now the Unified Republic has been formed, serving as a benevolent government focused on uniting people of the Wasteland and creating a better world. The group spread itself throughout many cities in the Wasteland, largely due to Snake's heroic influence. He was a hero to the people. They trusted him, and since he was a part of the republic, they knew they could trust that as well._

 _The Unified Republic managed to establish law throughout the wasteland. Their military strength was quite capable, as it was made of the armies of different civilizations merged into one team. Things like slavery, murder, and anything generally considered non-peaceful was not tolerated. And each member of the republic would personally see to it that heinous crimes be stopped along with the perpetrators._

* * *

Zelda and Ike traveled together, heading to a slave camp they'd been informed about. Zelda looked out into the distance and something caught her eye.

"Over there!" She pointed. "Is that it?"

"Yes ma'am. That would be the place." Ike confirmed.

"Oh thank goodness!" She said with relief.

"You seem pretty excited to get there." Ike chuckled. "What's the matter, you don't like the exercise from traveling?" He joked.

"I'll admit; it's been a while since I've walked such a long distance. It's quite exhausting."

"Eh, you're just not used to it. It becomes easier the more you do it from what I've learned. Hell, I've done it a lot, but I'm nowhere near the level of Snake and Ryu. Those two are masters of traveling on foot." He thought. "Besides, we could both use the exercise don't you think?"

Zelda looked at him with a smile. "I think so. I will say, your humor has definitely made the trip easier for me."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now let's keep moving. We should be meeting up with Link real soon."

A few minutes later, the two rendezvoused with Link, who was accompanied by a squad of Hylian soldiers.

"Geez Zelda. I don't think I've ever seen you sweat this much." Link laughed, getting a joking shove on the shoulder from the princess.

"So Link. What have you found out?"

"Well my scouts did threat assessment. They don't have too many armed men, so if negotiations go south, we'll have no problem dispatching them and rescuing all the imprisoned."

"I think you mean when negotiations go south." Ike sneered. "Let's be real, they're not going to be peaceful about this. They're slaver scum that value money over human lives. They don't want peace. Why don't we just kill them and free those poor people?"

"Ike I understand how you feel. And chances are you're right in that they won't want to settle this peacefully. But our movement aspires to bring change and give people the opportunity to change. These men may have done horrible things, but if there's even the slightest chance they could turn a new leaf, we will take it. Even Snake thinks that's how it should be." Zelda lectured Ike.

"I feel the same as you do in regards to how the negotiations will go. But you know how it is…we won't know if we don't try." Link spoke to the other swordsman.

Ike took a deep breath and calmed himself down, putting aside his personal feelings on the matter. "You're right. C'mon Zelda, let's get this over with."

"Alright! If anything happens, the men and I will do our thing." Link assured. "Good luck."

* * *

Ike and Zelda entered the camp and approached the trader. Zelda put on a friendly face before she began the discussion. Ike didn't bother, and just looked at the man with an intense glare.

"Good day to you, sir!" She greeted kindly.

"What the hell do you want? You here to buy?" The trader spat, not dignifying her greeting with a response.

"Oh, right down to business I see. I can respect that." She kept her cool.

"Good. Now who do you want to buy?"

"Oh you're mistaken. We're not here to buy slaves."

"Excuse me?!" The man scoffed, and his armed guards began to grow suspicious.

"Now hold on! We are here to make a deal however. If you would be so kind as to hear us out."

The man remained silent, glaring at Ike and Zelda for a while. He finally let out a frustrated sigh.

"All right fine. This better be good." He replied. He lit a cigarette and began listening as he smoked.

"Thank you. See my friend and I are part of a group, the Unified Republic. Our goal is to make the wasteland a better place for everyone. establishing laws that work towards a peaceful society." She explained.

"Sounds lovely. What's it got to do with me?" The trader showed further impatience.

"Well one of our laws is the illegalization of slavery. So we've come to ask you to shut down your operation here."

"Are you fucking with me?" He yelled, starting to become hostile. Ike's hand moved closer to the handle of his sword. "What kind of deal is that? Telling me to shut down for business, and for what?"

"If you do, you and your men will be granted a pardon. Nothing bad will happen to you. You will be given a clean slate, and a new start with the option to be in a much more dignified line of work."

The guard's eyes seemed to raise up with interest at the sound of Zelda's offer. The trader however, was unfazed.

"Clean slate my ass! No deal! Guys, kill them!" He ordered and Ike readied himself for a fight. TO his surprise, the guards did not raise their weapons.

"Hang on a minute sir! Why don't you take a minute to consider this? I mean business hasn't really been booming as of late." A guard suggested.

"Not to mention we don't even like this job. What we do isn't very good on our conscience." Another said.

"Did I ask any of you to speak?! I sure as hell did not! Kill them!" He barked once again. The men hesitantly raised their weapons. But suddenly they found themselves surrounded by Hylian soldiers, all ready to fire. Ike smirked as they all lowered their weapons.

"I highly suggest you reconsider." He said to the trader, who furiously glared back at him.

"Boss please! Take the offer!"

"Hang on a minute." Ike raised his hand, motioning for Link's men to lower their weapons. "So you guys just work for this asshole? You're just here on the clock?"

"We don't like the work, but we can't find other ways to make money. If it was up to me, I'd be outta this job in a second!"

"Don't you understand sir?" Zelda asked. "It is up to you. This offer is for everyone of you. Don't let him be the one to answer for you!" She said referring to the trader.

The guards looked to each other and nodded in a mutual agreement.

"Well then we say fuck this!"

The guards then walked over to Zelda and Ike's side. The trader screamed with fury and pulled out his gun, aiming it at Zelda. He didn't do anything after that, as an arrow went right through his head.

"Good shot soldier!" Link praised.

"Thank you sir."

"Well I'll be damned! That actually went well. Looks like you were right Zelda." Ike happily admitted.

"Remember...we just have to give people a chance." She reminded him. She then turned over to the guards, five men to be exact. "I'm very proud of all of you for the decision you've made today. You can follow us back to one of our towns. But first, would you be so kind as to free the imprisoned people?"

"Oh! Y-Yes ma'am!" They said and quickly got to work.

* * *

Hours later, Zelda, Ike, Link and his men began traveling back to Hyrule, with the reformed guards and freed slaves accompanying them.

"We did very well today, don't you two think?" Zelda asked and the two men nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! I'm sure Snake wished it would've went like this when he was freeing slaves." Link smiled.

"Speaking of which, have we found out where he went off to?"

"I'm afraid not." Zelda frowned. "He just got up and left a couple days ago according to Rosalina. I really wish he would let us know."

"Don't worry. He's not abandoning us. I'm sure whatever he's doing is important." Ike assured her.

"Well why doesn't he tell us when he's going to leave?"

"I just think he hates saying goodbyes is all."

* * *

Far away in a place known as Green Hill Zone, there was a small town. This town was mainly inhabited by friends and associates of the late fighter Sonic the Hedgehog. Among them was Sonic's best friend, Miles "Tails" Prower, who sat in his lab tinkering with electronics. It seemed that's all he really did these days. To him it was better than constantly thinking about his dead friend.

" _Sonic would've wanted me to move on._ " He would tell himself.

Suddenly someone came knocking on his door.

"Hey Tails?"

"Hey Amy, what's up?"

The pink hedgehog entered the room, looking rather nervous. "There's someone here who's asking to see you."

"Who is it?"

"I'm not sure. He's a human and…just come over here and see for yourself."

Tails walked over to her and took a look outside. He saw the man she was referring to. He was wearing a hooded cloak so his facial features were obscured.

"I don't know Tails. The guy looks like trouble to me."

"It's fine. Tell him to come in. I'm interested in what he has to say."

"Alright…if you say so."

Tails went back to his desk while Amy went to fetch the man. Soon enough he entered Tails' office.

"Are you…Miles Prower?" A gruff voice beneath the hood asked.

"That's correct. I hope you don't mind me asking who you might be." Tails replied. The man then removed his hood, revealing the face of a middle aged man with a bandana around his head…

"My name is Snake." He answered, gaining a puzzled look from the two tailed fox.

"But you're a human…"

"It's just a codename, or nickname. Whatever you want to call it."

"Oh I see. Well if you go by your nickname then I insist that you refer to me by mine. Just call me Tails."

"Ok Tails. Mind if I talk to you for a bit?"

"Of course not. Go ahead and have a seat."

"What can you tell me of Chaos Emeralds?" Snake asked.

Tails suddenly became very cautious towards the man. "Chaos Emerald? I'm afraid I've never heard of that." He lied.

Snake smiled at that. He knew it was a lie, but was glad to know that Tails was not one to just throw this information around.

"Good answer. Now I'm sure I can trust you with this information."

"What are you…"

"You don't have to lie to me. I'm not trying to collect the emeralds…at least not in the way you're used to. Take a look."

Reaching into his bag, Snake pulled out a blue Chaos Emerald. Tails was greatly surprised.

"Jeez! I haven't seen one of these in years. Where the hell did you find this one?"

"It was a pretty secluded area, and there were creatures that didn't make getting it easy." Snake explained. "I've heard that these things are quite powerful, but that's all I know about them. I know that back in the day you and your friends had a lot of experience with these things. Can you tell me a little more about them?"

"Well, a single Chaos emerald is incredibly powerful, so you could only imagine what someone could do if they collect all seven."

"What's a single emerald capable of?"

"Things like teleportation, the ability to see visions of the future, ability enhancement and more."

"I see…sounds like a megalomaniac's best friend." Snake thought aloud.

"So what are you planning to do with them?" Tails asked as Snake took the emerald back.

"I'm going to destroy them."

"WHOA! Why!" Tails shouted in shock.

"Why not? These things always seem to attract people who want to use them for evil, and they're capable of corrupting someone with a lust for power."

"Well I guess you're right but…destroying a very ancient relic like that. I've never considered it."

"I need to get rid of them. A force of evil will come, and I don't want them to be able to have anything to give them an upper hand." Snake insisted.

"Who are they." Tails asked. Snake remained silent for a moment and scratched his head.

"Well truthfully I don't know yet. I don't know who they are, or if they've even showed up yet. But when an evil force shows up, I'd prefer to be prepared."

"Okay…so this is just some extreme long-term planning you're doing?"

"Guess you could call it that. So is there any specific way to destroy them?" Snake asked.

"No actually, they're fairly easy to destroy. But be aware that just because you destroy them, the power is not gone completely, it's split into the shards. Though of course those shards are nowhere near as powerful as a full emerald."

"Well that's better than nothing I guess."

Snake took out a hammer and smashed the emerald into several pieces. He gathered up the shards and gave them to Tails.

"Here's my plan. I'm going to destroy these, and then entrust someone to guard the pieces. You're going to be one of them. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes Snake. I will."

"Okay, thank you. I've got to get going now. It was good to meet you." Snake waved goodbye as he exited.

"Goodbye Snake."

" _One down, six to go. At the very least it'll be difficult for someone to possess seven whole emeralds."_ Snake thought to himself.

After Snake left, Amy entered not too long afterwards. "So what happened? Who is he?"

"I'm still not entirely sure. All I know is that he goes by the name Snake, and that he's put a tremendous amount of faith in us to keep something safe for him..." He explained and showed her the shards of the Chaos Emerald "I don't plan on letting him down."

* * *

Snake knew that people would have mixed reactions as to what he was doing. Some would find it odd, some would say that he's being paranoid. And he would say that they're probably right. But Snake believes he's properly paranoid. The world is never safe; he knew that from experience. If he couldn't identify who the next threat would be, then the least he could do is keep anything that could give the enemy an advantage away from their grasp.

But that was just one of the things on his mind. He also couldn't stop wondering whatever happened to Crazy Hand. It was something he never thought about until Marth brought up the idea during their final battle. If there's a possibility that Crazy Hand is still alive, Snake would look for him. He needed answers, and if anyone could give it to him, it's Crazy.

 _I better head back before the others start to worry about me._

But along the way something caught his attention. He came across an old temple, one that looked familiar to him.

"The architecture looks just like Skyworld. That was were Pit was from wasn't it?"

Now interested, Snake decided to enter the temple. Inside was a large statue of a woman, presumably a goddess. The place seemed to be an old shrine dedicated to said goddess.

"Human!" A voice boomed in the distance, Snake stopped in his tracks and checked his surroundings. "Leave this place immediately. You do not belong here!"

"Is that right?" He muttered and defiantely took a few more steps forward.

"Do not test my patience! You continue any further and you will be punished!"

Snake would not stop walking forward. Soon enough an angel warrior appeared right in front of him at incredible speed. But Snake was prepared and dropped the angel as fast as he appeared with a swift punch.

"Stand down, kid." Snake warned. The angel rose to his feet, and Snake recognized who he was.

"Pit…"

Pit took out his blades and began attacking Snake. Snake dodged the attacks before taking out his machete. He was only going to use his blade as a means of blocking attacks, as he wanted Pit alive. He would strike Pit with punches or kicks whenever an opening came.

"Just stop it kid! I don't want to kill you!"

But no matter how much he pleaded, Pit just kept attacking.

"Damn it kid…you made me do this!"

Snake smashed his knee into Pit's face, reeling him back before he fell to the ground. Pit touched his face to discover he was bleeding from his nose.

"How?! How are you so strong?!" Pit angrily slammed his fist to the ground.

"You don't recognize me do you?" Snake asked.

"What?!"

Suddenly Snake was hit with a dropkick from behind, sending him tumbling across the room. Snake, now on his back, looked over to his attacker. He was also an angel, looking very similar to Pit in fact. Only this one was completely dressed in black.

"Get up." The dark angel ordered as he helped Pit up to his feet.

"Thanks Dark Pit."

"Never mind that! Let's just kill this guy and end this!"

Snake got back up, and readied himself as the two angel warriors walked towards him. But they flew back in evasion as a barrage of bullets went their way.

"Two on one? Why that just isn't fair now is it?" said the voice of a woman with a British accent. She stepped out of the shadows and stood at Snake's side.

"It's…it's that witch!" Dark Pit cursed.

"Bayonetta!"

"It's good to see you again boys!" She teased.

"Thanks for the help." Snake said to her.

"I must say you were very impressive back there, handsome. I've never seen a human dominate an angel in combat like that."

"I appreciate it."

"Well it looks like you don't have a partner for this dance. Mind if I fill the part?" She winked.

"Be my guest." He said and the two readied themselves for battle against the angels.


	2. Fallen from Grace

The battle didn't last very long and was relatively one-sided. As good of warriors as they were, Pit and Dark Pit were out-matched by Snake and Bayonetta. They were defeated and restrained in a few minutes.

"All right boys, tell me where your goddess is?" Bayonetta asked after the two angels were cuffed and on their knees. They refused to answer, looking away with a sour look on their face. "She's here isn't she? How could she not be? There's a damn statue of the bitch."

Snake was quiet while he let Bayonetta have her turn at questioning, and he could tell that she must have something personal against the angels and the goddess. He became cautious of what she might do next, knowing that personal vendettas can often take a violent turn.

"Not going to talk huh? That's fine! I'm sure I can find her without you." She said and pointed her pistols at their heads. Snake quickly rushed to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on a minute! Don't kill them!"

She lowered her weapons and turned to face Snake.

"And why not? They tried to kill you didn't they?"

"Yes but it wasn't an unprovoked attack. They gave me a warning and I ignored it. They clearly are just trying to guard this place and I'd like to know why." He argued. "Let me talk to them…trust me on this."

She looked back to the angels scornfully, but eventually she conceded. "Okay handsome. Do your thing."

"Thank you." He said to her. He walked over to the angels, focusing primarily on the one in white. "Pit…"

"How do you know my name?" He barked.

"Because we've met before." Snake answered. He crouched to Pit's level so that the angel could look at him. "Look at me closely. Don't you remember who I am?"

Pit squinted his eyes as he looked at the man's face. He scanned the facial details, and attempted to identify it. Then the realization came to him.

"Snake?!"

"That's right."

Bayonetta was surprised as well. "Wait! You're Snake? Solid Snake? The one who destroyed the Committee and helped form the U.R?"

"Oh. So I see you've heard about me."

"Anyone who does a lot of travelling is always going to hear about you." She explained. "Though these hermits most likely haven't heard of your exploits."

"Pit. What is this place? Why didn't you want me to come in?" Snake questioned.

"This is Palutena's temple. Dark Pit and I are here to protect the place from outsiders."

"What are you protecting?"

Then across the room, a blast of light went off and a woman with long green hair emerged from it.

"Protect Skyworld, and me." She stepped in to answer.

"Lady Palutena!" Pit exclaimed.

"Well look who finally showed up." Bayonetta scowled.

"Are you two all right?" Palutena cried out in concern.

"We're fine…" Dark Pit answered.

Snake could tell the goddess was glaring at him. He decided to try to dissolve the situation.

"Don't worry lady, I'm not going to hurt them."

"Then why do you have them tied up?"

"It's just to restrain them so they don't attack me." He explained. Though the answer didn't seem to make anything better as she continued to look at him with the same glare. "Look I'm not lying, what the hell do you want me to say?"

"Oh don't mind her Snake. She's just racist, that's all." Bayonetta said with sass. The goddess was taken back by the accusation.

"What?"

"Since you're a human, she thinks you're too violent and self-destructive, and that you're incapable of mercy."

Palutena scoffed. "That's…"

"Oh please!" the witch cut her off. "Do tell me that I'm wrong. Can you look at him and say that I am completely wrong?" She challenged.

Palutena looked at Snake, who looked back at her with a curious expression. Could she say it? Could she say that there was no truth behind any of Bayonetta's accusations?

"…"

She couldn't. She looked away from him, hanging her head in embarrassment.

"That's what I thought." Bayo smirked. "And by the way, we could've easily killed your boys here. If it were up to me, they would be dead. The only reason they're not is because the human here convinced me not too."

"She's not wrong." Dark Pit admitted, grabbing Palutena's attention. "She had her guns at our heads…but he stopped her."

"Really?"

"That's right Lady Palutena! Snake saved us."

Snake had lost interest at this point. He felt it was a mistake coming here, and that he wasn't going to learn anything useful out of this. He took out his knife and cut the angels free of their restraints.

"That's enough, I get it. I'm not wanted here. I'll leave."

The two angels flew back to Palutena's side.

"You're letting them go? Don't you want to get some answers?" Bayo questioned the decision.

"Learning about angel racism seems like a waste of my time."

As he turned to leave however, he stopped himself as a thought came back to him.

"That being said, I'm curious as to what your stake is in this." He said to Bayo.

"Specifically?"

"Why do you hate her so much? What'd she do to get on your bad side?"

"Oh I'd be more than happy to tell you!" She said with strange delight. "It's not what she did to me. It's what she did to all of us, to the world! She turned her back on it." Bayo's tone became much more serious.

"Shut up!" Palutena's tightened her fists and they began to shake.

"Don't like hearing the truth, do you?"

"Come to think of it, a goddess could've helped a lot in rebuilding the world." Snake noted.

"This is the Smash domain! I don't have any power here. How could I have helped?" the goddess tried to find flaws in his statement.

"Skyworld is still fine isn't it?"

"Yes it is, but what's that got to…"

"You never thought about sharing resources with this world? It may not be your world, but I'm sure you had friends here. I know Pit did." He interrupted her.

Palutena couldn't find a retort for that.

"I'm sorry! But when I found out that this world was destroyed by the very people that were meant to protect it, I lost a lot of faith in other people. I wouldn't allow my people to make sacrifices for something they had nothing to do with!"

"Fair enough. I can understand where you're coming from." Snake said. "But I will have to tell the other fighters about this when I get back home. I'm not sure if they'll share that understanding. Goodbye."

He began to leave. "It was good to see you again Pit. Sorry it was under bad circumstances." He said as he walked out.

"That's okay. It was good to see you too." Pit smiled, something he hadn't done in quite a while.

After Snake was gone, Bayonetta glared at the goddess once more.

"You were wrong about humans…"

"What?"

"Sure they have flaws, but who doesn't?"

"I didn't say I was perfect!"

"Oh but you sure as hell act like it! One grave mistake, and you just decided to disassociate yourself from this world completely."

"I…"

"Just save it. Besides, it looks like we didn't even need your help. That man showed us that. He has been putting his life on the line for everyone. He goes through suffering so that others don't have to. And right now, him and his friends have been working their asses off to make the world a better place. What the fuck have you done for this world?"

Palutena simply stood in silence, filled with emotional conflict.

"Goodbye." The witch said and made her leave.

* * *

Snake had started his trip back home, one he had planned he would take alone. But he was surprised when Bayo caught up to him and began strutting alongside.

"Oh I hope you weren't trying to get rid of me, handsome!" She joked.

"Sorry. I just assumed that you had other places to be."

"I'm a wanderer sweetie. I don't have to be anywhere; I just go where I please."

"I get you. So what are you planning to do now?"

"Well I enjoy living on the edge, seeing excitement! And you seem like an interesting guy. I'm sure a lady wouldn't get bored travelling with you. So I think that's what I'll do. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah sure. I could use the company. Just don't get too excited though, right now we're heading back to see the other members of the U.R."

"Sounds good to me. I think it'd be nice to see some old friends."

"Well let's not waste any time."

* * *

After going through combat training with Snake, Princess Peach decided to take a more direct approach in assisting the wasteland. She traded her dress and crown for a combat suit and a gun. She began to accompany Snake's Nomad Squad in their missions. That's not to say she was abandoning her role as the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was only temporary, and she appointed her good friend Daisy to take her place while she was gone. Daisy was more than happy to.

Right now she was with a group of Nomad soldiers, tasked with eradicating mutants that had overrun an area, an old run-down wear-house to be precise. While they were all combat specialist, their real strength was their strategic minds and how well they worked as a squad. Their ability to come up with tactics, formations and attack strategies at a moment's notice. Using these advantages, the group was able to slowly pick off mutants with guerrilla warfare tactics. Popping out of cover, opening fire and then moving to another safe location.

The mutants couldn't get a fix on the location of their attackers. They'd look in the direction from where they got shot, only to get attacked by someone else. The Nomad Squad would continue to use this strategy until they were down to the last one. A mutant Fire Bro wearing heavy armor. Larger and stronger than pre-catastrophe Fire Bros due to the mutagen.

"Careful team! We've got a hostile in heavy armor!" The squad commander warned.

"Roger! I've got a frag grenade. Should I try that?" A soldier asked.

"Go ahead, we'll give you cover fire." Peach responded.

"Okay team! Focus fire!" The commader ordered, and three other soldiers and Peach fired on the Fire Bro. As expected, ballistic fire did little to the mutant.

"Frag out!" the trooper cried out and tossed it. It was a perfect throw, the grenade landed right at the enemy's feet. It went off, but unfortunately didn't kill the enemy. It did at the very least do some damage, but also enraged the Fire Bro, and it started lobbing fire balls at the team. The group quickly dug into cover to avoid being burned alive.

"Shit! What now?"

Peach peeked her head out of cover to get a visual on the enemy. She noticed that the grenade had knocked off the Fire Bro's helmet. A headshot would be able to put the creature down, but getting a good shot while it was barraging them with fire would be near impossible. So she formed a plan.

"I've got an idea!"

"Okay! What is it ma'am?"

"Its head is exposed so a well-placed headshot should kill it. But it's not making it easy for me to line up a shot. Can you get an opening for me?"

"Can do ma'am! Alright team, quickly move out of cover and lay down some suppressing fire! We need to get its attention away from Peach!"

"Yes sir!"

The squad got out of hiding and exposed themselves to the enemy, firing shots to make it focus on them and draw its attacks away from Peach. They moved from cover to cover until Peach was no longer in its field of vision. Peach quickly readied her rifle, aimed for the head, and pulled the trigger. The bullet went right into the creature's head and it ceased its attacks. It let out a deep shout before it dropped dead.

"Area secured!" The commander said.

"Great shot Peach!" The soldiers complimented her.

"Thank you, but I couldn't have done it without your help. We won this battle because we worked as a team. You all did fantastic!"

"I agree! You did fine work out there, soldiers!" The commander praised. "Now search the area for anything useful and then we'll head back home."

"Yes sir!"

The soldiers spread out to search the area, while the Commander turned to speak with Peach.

"Ma'am I'd like to thank you for accompanying my squad. You've been a big help in combat, and you've really boosted the troops morale."

"It's my pleasure. You're a great leader commander Dolph. The U.R. is glad to have your assistance."

"Thank you, ma'am. I'll let you know when we're ready to depart."

"Okay. By the way did you get any word about Snake?"

"As a matter of fact I did. He reported in that he's heading back home. And he's got someone with him, a surviving smash fighter Bayonetta."

"She's alive? That's wonderful!"

"I'll update you if I find out anything more."

* * *

Snake and Bayonetta did the old "walk-n-talk" routine, traveling together while trading stories to get to know each other better. Snake had just told her about his time in Smash Brothers.

"So you, a human with no extraordinary powers, entered a fighting tournament with magic users, super humans, and other creatures that your universe would only see in fiction?"

"That's right."

"And yet I heard that you were one of the top fighters during the third tournament."

"Yep."

"That's fascinating! What's your secret?"

"Secret?"

"Yeah! What did you do to be able to go toe-to-toe with the others?"

"I used my wits. I had to adapt to whatever situation I found myself in, and change tactics accordingly. Using traps, distractions, mind games, CQC. Basically I modified my fighting style to allow me to fight any type of opponent."

"Interesting."

"The mind is just as powerful as any sword or gun."

"I like the way you think."

"Thanks. By the way, those are some pretty fancy pistols looking pistols."

Before she could respond, they were interrupted as a group of three Moblins confronted them. Snake got into his fighting stance, but Bayonetta smirked and waved her hand dismissively at him.

"Leave this to me. Let me show you what these pistols can do." She said.

"Uh okay. If you insist." Snake said and stood down.

Bayonetta sauntered over to the monsters, not intimidated in the slightest. The Moblins roared and one attacked Bayo with its spear. She side-stepped away from the attack, and started firing at the group. They continued to attack, while she continued to dodge and shoot. One fell dead after getting shredded by bullets. Bayo fought the other two, maintaining her style and grace the whole time. The Moblins went to attack her at the same time. Just before the swords could cut her, she did a stylish back flip to dodge. Suddenly, she started moving at incredible speed in front of Snake. She was moving faster than the eye could see. All Snake could see was bullets hitting the Moblins, seemingly from all directions. Within a few seconds, the Moblins fell in a pool of their blood.

 _What the hell?!_

Finally, Bayonetta reappeared in front of Snake, looking very proud of her handiwork.

"So? What did you think?" She asked.

"You didn't tell me you have super speed."

"Super speed?"

"Yeah! You just started going all over the place, attacking them from every side. I only caught some brief glimpses of you during it all."

"Oh I see! That wasn't super speed darling. That was Witch Time."

"Care to elaborate?"

"It's an ability we Umbra Witches have. It allows us to see everything that's happening in an instant. To me, it looks like time is slowed down…"

"But to everyone else it looks like your moving at incredible speed. Basically a second of Witch Time is like a nanosecond in real time." Snake put the pieces together.

"You are a smart one aren't you?" She said.

"That kind of power must make fights trivial. Can you always use it?"

"No, there is a limit. That kind of power requires a large amount of my magic. After I use it, I'll have to wait until my body restores that magic."

"How long is the wait?"

"A few hours."

"I see. Well we could have handled those Moblins without it. Why did you use it there?"

"Oh…I just wanted to show off a little." She said teasingly. Snake couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Well you did a good job. Just save that power for when we really need it from now on."

"Of course. Shall we continue moving?"

"We shall."


	3. Dogs of War

While he intended to head straight back to homebase, Snake ended up getting sidetracked after he spotted a building in the distance. A factory more specifically. He didn't know why, but he became very curious as to what was inside.

"Hey Bayo? Look!" He said and pointed to the factory.

"Yeah, it's a factory. What about it?"

"I don't know. It just feels…familiar somehow."

"Really?"

The Umbra Witch took a moment to straighten her glasses.

"Well we have time to spare. You want to go have a look?" She asked.

"If it's no trouble."

"Of course not. Let's go!"

The two quickly approached the entrance door. They were suprised to see a pile of corpses near the entrance.

"Well now we know this place won't be boring." Bayo thought.

"We need to find out what happened."

Snake grabbed the knob and opened the door. But before they could step in…

"Snake, wait!"

"I know."

"So you see them too?"

"Yeah. Booby traps."

Snake stepped over a tripwire and then went to the base of the trap.

"Okay I disarmed it." He confirmed.

"What would've happened had we tripped that wire?"

"We would've been in pieces and spread out across this factory." He answered as he pointed her attention to a bag of motion sensor explosives that were placed above them.

"I see. I guess we're not alone here."

"Yeah, we're not. And looking at all these traps in this room, whoever set them up is pretty crafty." Snake groaned.

"What do you think their doing here?"

"If I had to guess, somebody is using this place to hold-out or to hide. I guess the corpses stacked outside is meant to scare away any would be intruders."

"I agree. Let's be careful." Bayo suggested.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Stay sharp."

So they ventured on, staying alert to spot any incoming traps.

"By the way" Bayo said. "You said that you felt this place was familiar to you. Have you found out why yet?"

"Actually, I think we're about to see." Snake answered as he approached one of the factory machines. The side was covered in dust, obscuring a symbol marked on it. He brushed away the dust and looked at the symbol. It was symbol they were both quite familiar with.

"I knew it!" Snake muttered.

"Is that…"

"Yep. It's the Smash Brothers symbol."

"So this is a Smash owned factory."

"More specifically, it's a Smash Ball production factory. They were a few of these just before the Catastrophe happened."

"Well now I want to investigate this place as much as you do, but first we have to deal with whoever is up here."

"I hear you. Let's go."

They made their way to a staircase that went up a floor. It too had traps set.

"Watch out! Frag mines!" Bayonetta warned.

"I see them."

"We could shoot them from a distance to set them off, but then that'll let our friend know that someone's home."

"Don't worry, I'll handle them."

Snake went into a crouch and slowly walked forward so that his movements would not be easily detected by the mines. He got close to the first one. The light on the mine started to blink, indicating it was about to explode. Snake snatched the mine and disarmed it just in time. Slowly but surely he repeated the process with the other mines until the staircase was clear.

"All right, we're good."

They went to the upper floor. Across the hall was a shut door, a lable next to it indicating it led to the managers office.

"Bets are that our trap-loving friend is in there." Bayonetta guessed.

She took a step forward and unfortunately onto a pressure plate. Across the room a device shot a dart at her. Thankfully her quick reflexes allowed her to sidestep away from it. The dart missed her and got stuck in a wall. Snake pulled the projectile out and examined it.

"That wasn't an ordinary dart I'm assuming."

"Nope. It's coated with some serious poison. The kind that kills you in minutes." He answered.

"And it almost hit me. That bastard." She joked. "Alright let's see whose behind door number one."

The two took the standard "breach-and-clear" position, standing one standing on a side of the door. They readied their weapons while reading to breach the door.

"I'll take the lead. We don't know what to expect behind here so stay on your toes." Snake advised.

"Don't worry, I got your back."

"Okay…3…2…1…GO!"

Snake kicked the door open, and almost immediately afterwards, a blaster shot went off in the room. The energy bullet hit Snake square in the stomach. It knocked him back, and he and Bayonetta immediately went back into cover as a few more shots flew by.

"Oh god! Snake are you all right?!"

Snake patted his gut down, and discovered that somehow he was not wounded. No sight of bleeding anywhere.

"Surprisingly I'm completely fine!" he reported to her.

 _Damn Rosalina. You did a good job with this body armor. I owe you one._

The two put their focus back into the situation at hand. The shots from the office had ceased for now.

"I must say, I'm impressed. No one's ever managed to make it past all my traps." A rugged man's voice said from within the room. "But unluckily for you, your prize for making it this far is to fight me. And you're not going to live through this fight."

 _Why does that voice sound so familiar?_

"Wait a minute! We're not looking for trouble." Snake attempted to reason.

"Oh that's a good one. If you weren't looking for trouble, then you wouldn't have fucking come here!"

"We just wanted to look around we didn't think anyone would be here." Bayonetta told a half-lie.

"Didn't you see those corpses outside?! That's my sign! And that sign says no Committee assassin is going to fuck with Wolf O' Donnel!" Wolf roared.

"Wolf?!" Snake muttered in shock.

"Committee? You think we're Committee assassins?" Bayonetta asked.

"I don't know anyone else who's looking for me."

"Well then you must've missed the news. The Committee is history! And the man with me is the one who put them down!"

"What?! Who?!"

"Wolf! It's me, Snake! Solid Snake! Remember me?"

The grip on Wolf's blaster began to falter.

"N-No! You're lying! Snake is dead!"

"No Wolf! It's really me!"

"Then prove it!" Wolf challenged.

Snake thought of a way to prove his identity. He thought against sticking his face out, that was a sure-fire way to get his head blown off. So he thought of a way to prove it in a way only Wolf would understand.

"We're Dogs of War right to the core." Snake recited. "Not snakes, not wolves…"

"just mercenaries, nothing more…" Wolf finished for him. "Our old team motto." He smiled, reminiscing of those old times. He holstered his blaster, knowing that this truly was Snake. "All right come in."

Snake and Bayo entered. The two mercenaries looked at each other for the first time in years and smiled.

"I'll be damned! It is you!" Wolf laughed as he and Snake shook hands. "Man you look like shit!"

"You look pretty terrible yourself." Snake joked back.

Wolf turned his focus over to the Witch. He didn't know her, but he wasn't completely unfamiliar with her.

"Hey I think I remember you?" He said.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah! You're the lady that was added to the fourth tournament by a ballot, right?"

"That's right. I'm Bayonetta, a pleasure to meet you Wolf." She kindly responded and shook hands with him.

"What you said back there about the Committee…is it true?"

"It's very true."

"When did this happen?"

"About a month ago." Snake answered.

"Well I'd been bunkered down here for at least three months."

"Then I guess we'll fill you in on what's been going on in the world."

* * *

So Snake and Bayonetta sat down with Wolf, informing him of the important events the occurred while O'Donnel was off the grid. The defeat of the Committee, the establishment of the United Republic, all of it.

"You sure as hell have been busy haven't you?" Wolf chuckled. "Fighting the good fight and all that."

"It definitely never leaves me bored." Snake grinned. "So what are you gonna do from here?"

"Well to be honest I didn't really think about what I was going to do when I was done here. I had assumed I would be in hiding forever. Since I don't know what to do now, I guess I'll just tag along with you. Try to get integrated back into society."

"Sounds good."

"By the way, why did you come here?"

"What's that?" Bayo asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you did, but I'm sure you didn't come here looking for me. So what made you two come here?"

"Well this factory used to be a Smash Ball production factory. I thought it might be a good place to go to get some pre-Catastrophe information." Snake explained.

"Hmm…now that you mention it, I think there are some documents in that desk right there. I didn't bother to read them, so I'm not sure if they're helpful."

Opening a drawer in the desk, Snake began looking through the papers. One of them immediately caught his eye. It was a journal entry of some kind. Bayo looked as well and was shocked at what she saw.

"Is that…"

"Yep." Snake answered. "Written by Crazy Hand himself."

"When was that written?" She questioned.

"About three months before the Catastrophe."

"Well let's give it a read!"

* * *

 _Crazy Hand Reports_

 _Entry 1_

 _Snake came in today to talk to me and Master. He told us of his concerns that our new line of Smash Balls may be having some unintended side effects on the roster. We asked him what he meant, and while he wasn't to specific he explained that he believed that some of the fighters were showing rather odd behavior. One of the other side effects he mentioned was people becoming more prone to violent outburst._

 _Brother did his usual routine when it came to odd complaints. He thanked Snake for his concerns, assured him that they were likely unfounded but we'll look into it regardless. But I know my brother. That was a lie, and I could tell that Snake knew this too. Replying with "Yeah, like hell you will!" before storming out of the room._

 _It's strange…I thought I would also not think much of Snake's complaint, but it's been bothering me. Why is Snake the one who brought this up? He's not on the roster, so something like this would not have any impact on him. It seems like he was legitimately concerned for the people on the roster. Some of them are his friends after all._

 _In fact, I don't believe I would be thinking so much about this if anyone else brought this up. Not once during his time in Smash Brothers did he come to us with a complaint. He strikes me as the type of guy that would only make a complaint if it was serious._

 _There has to be some truth to what Snake is saying. Since my brother isn't going to, I've decided to investigate into this matter. I do hope Snake is wrong about this, or that the situation isn't too serious._

"Here's another one." Snake said and flipped the page.

* * *

 _Entry 2_

 _I've begun monitoring the activities of the fighters, both on and off the battlefield. It feels wrong…it is wrong I know that. I shouldn't be spying on them like this. But if there was a chance that what Snake was saying was true, then I had to do it. And my God was he right._

 _Thankfully this…effect…hasn't gotten to everyone. But the ones who are suffering from abnormal effects show that it makes them into completely different people, doing things that they normally would be appalled by._

 _The normally friendly, jovial Mario looked void of any positive emotions. He just went straight to training and that was all he cared about. When somebody would tell him to take a break or lighten up, he would furiously berate them out of the room. He even did this to his brother Luigi. I know Mario, and I've seen him when he was going through some tough times. He would NEVER act like this. He may be sad or upset, but he never took his frustrations out on anyone else. Something is definitely wrong._

 _Then I noticed something different with Sonic. We all know Sonic can be a little cocky sometimes, but that's his thing, and he always does it in good fun. But suddenly he's been verbally volatile. He's not taunting people, he's insulting them outright, trying to hurt people on a personal level. Sonic never acts like a bully. Hell, he's an anti-bully. His best friend, Tails, was bullied constantly as a child because he had two tails. But Sonic never said anything about it. He treated Tails like a person, an equal. So what the hell changed that?_

 _There are many others, but to name them all would take a while. But they all seem to have had their personalities take a complete 180. What's just as concerning is that these changes don't just show through people's personalities, but through their fighting styles as well._

 _Certain fighters are starting to become unnecessarily aggressive during battle. It looks to me that they care more about inflicting pain on their opponent rather than actually winning the match. Fighters that would normally rely on agility, technique and finesse to fight throw all of that away and just start relying on brute force. They're acting more like Bar-room Brawlers than Smashers!_

 _And finally, Snake was also right about this being traced due to the Smash Ball. The one thing all of these affected fighters have in common is that when a Smash Ball appears on the field, they go berserk. They start acting like animals fighting over food, looking like they're ready to kill anyone who gets in the way of them and that ball._

 _But now I wonder, what is it about the Smash Balls that does this? And how am I going to get my brother to believe this?_

 _Anyway I'm going to be transferring to another one of the factories. I'll keep logging this while I'm there. Hopefully I don't forget to bring the pages back._

* * *

"So he actually listened to me." Snake muttered after finishing the pages. He folded them neatly and put it in his survival bag.

"And it sounds like he was trying to do something about it." Wolf deduced.

"And if we can gather all of these pages, we'll find out what he was doing. Our best bet is to search the other abandoned factories. He must've forgot to bring them back from there." Snake explained.

"Well that sounds like a plan then." Bayo smiled.

"Let's get going." Wolf insisted.

"Wolf, wait!" Snake stopped him. "There's something I need to give you."

Reaching in his bag, he pulled out a weapon and handed it to Wolf. It wasn't just an ordinary firearm though. This was Wolf's personal blaster he used back then. He smiled as he grabbed his beloved weapon.

"Where the hell did you find this?"

"Fox kept it. He wasn't sure what happened to you, but I think he assumed the worse and had it as a keepsake. Then he gave it to me…and now I'm giving it back to you."

"McCloud? Huh. I never thought I'd say this, but I'll be happy to see him again."

Gathering everything they needed and disarming the traps in the factory, the three made haste to their next destination.

"I'll admit, Crazy seemed very intellectual from his writing. I never thought of him as a smart fellow because…well you know?" Bayo finished knowing the two understood what she was implying.

"It's understandable. His behavior never showed his more rational side. But Snake and I always had a feeling that he was more than he seemed."

"Yeah. He wasn't present at most events. And it was never made clear what he actually did for the Smash Brothers organization, aside from being a boss fight. When I made my complaint, he was there but he didn't say anything. Master Hand did all the talking, so I didn't see why Crazy should be there. His true purpose was always a mystery to me. Now it looks like we have a chance to solve it." Snake explained.

"So the whole "crazy" part of him that we would usually see…do you think that was all an act?" Bayo questioned.

"No. I'm sure he is actually crazy. But crazy doesn't make you stupid. If anything, it makes you unpredictable."

"How long until we get there, Snake?" Wolf cut in and asked.

"It's about two days of walking. I think it's best we find a place to camp for the night."


	4. Debriefing

**So I turned 20 years old Monday. Feels really weird, but it's cool. Anyway, here's a chapter to celebrate that.**

* * *

Luigi sat down with Fox and Krystal at a small outpost. While he had finally reunited with his love Daisy, he wasn't ready to retire just yet. He still had a lot to offer in terms of helping people. Daisy supported him, and even felt the same way about herself, given how she's currently ruling over a kingdom.

"Any word on Snake?" he asked the other two.

"Yes, he said he was on his way back. He's bringing a couple of friends with him, along with some important information." Krystal informed him.

"Great. So how long until he gets back?"

"About a day and a half." Fox estimated.

"Isn't there a way we could get them back faster? What about that car you two found and used to pick up Caeda? Can we use that?"

"As useful as that would be, we cannot." Fox answered.

"That car is one of a kind, unlike anything we've ever seen. It's back at the lab with Rosalina and Robin, and no one is laying a finger on it until they figure out how it was made." Krystal added.

"I see. They're trying to find a way to produce more of them. Now that would be very useful!"

The three remained quiet for a minute, just to be vigilant of anything suspicious. There was nothing to be seen.

"So Luigi, how's Daisy been?" Krystal kindly asked.

"Very well. She's been great at taking Peach's place of watching over the Mushroom Kingdom. She's really enjoying it."

"Yeah I must say, Peach couldn't have picked a better candidate. The transition was perfect. You wouldn't be able to tell that there was a change of ruler ship. It's also great that the people of the Mushroom Kingdom are quite fond of her, so there were no debates about the change." Fox said.

"Gotta say I'm still shocked that Peach decided to take a more militant type of life. I've known her for a long time, and I could never imagine her picking up a gun and going on missions." Said Luigi.

"Well she did, and she's doing a very good job too." Fox replied. "She's really showing the results of Snake's training."

"I heard she took down a huge mutant the other day. If she wasn't there, the squad that was with her would've suffered major casualties." Krystal recalled.

"Hey, I'm sure Daisy could be a good soldier too. Just let her train a few months with Snake." Fox joked.

"I'm sure she could." Luigi chuckled. "Anyway, I'm going back to see her. I'll talk to you two later."

"Alright. Later."

"Say hello to Daisy for me!" Krystal waved.

* * *

Snake, Bayonetta and Wolf had finally set up their campsite. Wolf ate some food and went to sleep, feeling rather tired from the walk. He joked that he's no longer in shape after being holed up in that factory for months. Snake and Bayonetta stayed awake a little longer, sitting at the campfire.

"Hey?"

"What's up?" he asked.

"That thing you said to Wolf earlier, that rhyme or motto or whatever it was that made him trust us…"

"What about it?"

"What does it mean exactly? It must be something significant to the two of you."

Snake laughed a little as memories came back to him.

"It was during the third season of Smash. A team tournament took place and we were all randomly assigned a partner. Wolf and I got paired up. A lot of the others laughed, thinking it was funny that two guys with the name of an animal happened to get paired up. They also didn't think we would get along. We didn't think we would get along either. But then we started talking and found out that we had a lot more in common than we thought, since we were both mercenaries. A common term for a mercenary is 'Dogs of War'. And that's what we chose for our team name to be. That phrase was just our motto. Kind of stupid huh?" He grinned.

Bayonetta smiled at the tale.

"Not really. It's kind of charming."

They took a moment to collect their thoughts. Then Bayonetta brought up another topic.

"So tell me. When we get back to the U.R, what happens then?"

"Well first I'll get scolded by some of the others for taking off by myself without any notice before hand."

"Playing lone wolf are we? What a naught boy you are Snake!" she teased.

"It's hard not to, I'm used to doing things alone. But they're right. We are a team now, so it's better if we work together." He admitted. "Besides, it seems every time I try to go alone I end up coming back with a group."

"Either that's irony, or the universe is trying to tell you something."

"Yeah, no kidding. Anyway once that's done I'll give them my report, most of which you've been a witness to. Pit and Palutena's current state, Crazy Hand's notes and all that."

"Of course."

"And then there are some political matters that we'll need to resolve."

"I can tell that you don't like that word."

"What? Political?"

"Yes. You don't really strike me as a political man."

"Trust me I'm not. If it were up to me, I'd choose to have no say in the U.R's political affairs. I know that I could trust Zelda, Peach, Link and the others to make the right choice in that department. But it turned out that citizens would only give the U.R the greenlight if I was involved."

"I see. So what's one of the hot political topics right now?"

"Well, New Smashville hasn't had a leader ever since I killed Marth."

"Do you have anyone in mind to fill the spot?"

"Yeah. Caeda."

"Who's that?"

"She was Marth's wife."

"Oh…"

The conversation went quiet for a moment.

"I didn't know he had a wife."

"It was a surprise to a lot of us. I don't think he talked about her very much."

"Poor girl. I do hope she's alright."

"She's getting better."

"Glad to hear it." She said and then looked up to the bright moon in the sky. "Oh look at me, talking my damn head off! We should be getting some sleep. We'll need it for the trip tomorrow. Anyway, goodnight Snake."

"Goodnight."

* * *

The sun rose and Snake and his group awoke from their sleep. They gathered their gear and went back to traveling. They traveled quickly not wasting anytime on returning back to U.R territory. By the end of the day, they had made it to the Hyrule sector. Fox, Krystal, Link, Zelda, Ike, Lucina, and Peach were there waiting for him at the entrance. There was also soldiers of the U.R military, who saluted Snake upon arrival.

"You're back!" Peach cheered.

"I am, and look who I brought with me."

Bayonetta was standing at Snake's left side, waving to the fighters she had not seen in years. And then Wolf was at Snake's right side, his arms folded. While Snake had radioed in that he found Bayonetta, he kept the discovery of Wolf a secret.

"It's been a long time hasn't it, pup?" he said to Fox.

Fox and Krystal had their jaws drop in disbelief.

"Wolf! You're alive!" Fox managed to say. He wasn't sure what to do after saying that. Wolf looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"Are you just going to stand there and catch flies in your mouth or are you going to come over her and shake my hand?"

Fox quickly snapped out of his shock, pulling himself together. "Yeah! Yeah of course!"

On the other side, Bayonetta was greeting with the others.

"Where have you been all this time Bayonetta?" Lucina asked.

"Oh you know…around." She said jokingly. The others rolled their eyes at the answer, "Hey if I had a better answer I would give it to you."

Snake then walked up to Peach and Zelda saying "All right. Get it out of your system."

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked with a smile.

"What do I mean? I took off. Just left without a warning. I was wrong to do that."

"Snake, we've gotten used to it by now." Zelda laughed.

"All that we care about is that you made it back safe." Peach said.

"Heh…all right. Sorry if I made you worry." He apologized. "Anyway I've got one hell of a report, and you all need to hear it."

"All right then. Let's go inside." Ike suggested.

* * *

"Palutena?! She really thinks that?!" Zelda gasped after Snake and Bayonetta finished telling everyone about their altercation with Palutena.

"I'd like to tell you no, but all signs point to the answer being yes." Snake answered.

"I never thought she could be such a…" Peach struggled to think of the word.

"Let's just call it like it is! She's a god damn bigot!" Ike cut in with anger in his voice.

"Ike!" Zelda scolded.

"He's not wrong Zelda." Link said.

"An angelic goddess with a 'holier than thou' mindset. What are the odds?" Wolf joked.

"What else do you have Snake?" Lucina asked to get the discussion back on track.

"I want us to establish communication with Green Hill Zone. It's a small town I visited during my travels, populated by Sonic's friends."

"Oh wow! I don't think we've seen any of them for years! Where'd you find the town?" Fox asked.

"It's pretty far to the east, but the road there is pretty safe. Shouldn't have a problem getting there. They're good people. I think they deserve some support."

"Got it. What next?"

"Chaos Emeralds. Have you all heard of them?" He asked to which they all nodded. "If you find any, destroy them and hide them."

"Uh…okay, is there something wrong? Is someone dangerous trying to collect them?" Link asked.

"I don't know."

"Well then why destroy them?" Krystal questioned.

"It's just a precaution."

"We do what he says. If he thinks that they need to be destroyed than that's good enough for me." Ike said to the others.

"He's right. We'll do it." Peach affirmed. "By the way Snake, have you thought of who we should appoint as governor of New Smashville?"

"Yeah. I want it to be Caeda if that's all right with all of you?"

"No arguments here. I think she'll be great" Zelda smiled. "Is there anything else?"

"One last thing. I've been investigating something over the last month and had been keeping it a secret. But the three of us finally came across a clue, so I think it's time I shared this with all of you. It's about Crazy Hand. Take a look at these." He handed the journal entries to the group. As the others read and then passed it around, Snake explained how he had become curious about Crazy Hand's whereabouts.

"Man…to think that he still might be out there…" Fox thought.

"Where did you find these?" Peach asked.

"They were at an abandoned factory where we found Wolf. Snake tells me that they used to create Smash Balls at that factory." Bayonetta answered.

"And there's more than one of them, and Crazy would visit each one. So I have the feeling that the rest of the journal entries are scattered in those factories." Snake said.

"How many factories are there?" Zelda asked.

"I remember there being four. So that means we have three more to search."

"One of the Nomad Sqauds and I were at a factory the other day. We eradicated all the mutants there. Though I'm not sure if it was a Smash Ball factory." Peach mentioned.

"Wouldn't hurt to check. We'll go there later." Snake said. "So that's the end of my report."

"All right! With all that being said, I think we'll call it a meeting." Link concluded.

"Let's keep up the good work everyone!" Lucina smiled.

* * *

After the meeting, Ike went and approached Snake. There was something he wanted to ask him for quite a while, and now that he was back he had the chance.

"Hey Snake."

"Hey Ike."

"You had quite an adventure while you were gone, huh?"

"Yep. Seems I have a streak of having trips become much more complicated."

The two shared a brief laugh at that.

"So Ike, how's your sister?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk with you about."

Snake's eyebrows raised, showing his curiosity.

"Would you like to come and have some dinner with Mist and I? I've told her about you, and she really wants to meet you."

"I'd be happy to. I'll swing by later."

"Great! Thanks man."

* * *

Meanwhile in an unknown location.

" _Hello Master."_

"…"

" _Um…the scout is back with his report."_

" _Good. Get out and get him in here."_

" _Right away Master!"_

…

" _Reporting in sir!"_

" _Tell me what's going on out there. I haven't been out there in two months. I'm sick of hiding from those Committee bastards."_

" _Well then you're going to want to hear this sir. The Committee is no more."_

" _Really?!"_

" _Yes, and two of their top bounty hunters, Captain Falcon and Samus Aran were killed as well."_

" _Fantastic? Who's the magnificent bastard that did them in?"_

" _You may remember him. A lot of people call him the Nomad."_

" _Ah yes. Solid Snake. He's the perfect example of what people need to be like if they want to survive in this world. A world of kill or be killed…the world I've always wanted. I'm guessing with the Committee gone things are starting to get chaotic!"_

" _Uh well…that's where the bad news comes in sir."_

" _What?"_

" _I have it all detailed in my written report if you'd prefer to read that."_

" _Yes! Hand that to me and get out!"_

"…"

" _Now let's see…hmm…United Republic?"_

" _Oh Snake…you disappoint me. You killed the people preventing the world from reaching its perfect form, and now you're one of those people yourself. Making the world a safer place…pathetic. The Catastrophe was a clear sign that the world is ready to change, to take a dive into hell. It should be a world where chaos reigns supreme and only the strong can survive. The only person you can care about or trust is yourself. If anyone gets in your way, you kill them. I thought somebody like you would appreciate that kind of world. I guess I was wrong. So if you won't help to make that world, then I'm going to step in and do it myself. All of the hard work you and your friends have done to build this 'United Republic'…I'm going to destroy it."_

" _However, I am feeling grateful after hearing that you killed Captain Falcon. That fucker broke my arm. So I believe I can wait a little bit before I put my plan in motion. So enjoy your little moment of peace...while you still can…"_

* * *

 **I'll let you guess who that man talking is. I'll let you know it isn't obvious. One hint I will give you is that it's not Liquid Snake.**


	5. Know Thyself

Snake and Ike stood right outside the door of Ike's house. Before they entered, Ike stopped Snake for a moment to talk.

"So before we go in…"

"What is it? Something wrong?" Snake asked.

"No! No! I just think I should warn you about a few things regarding Mist."

"Okay. What do I need to know?" Snake chuckled.

"Mist has been wanting to meet you for a while now. So she'll probably want to ask you a lot of questions. If it gets too much just let me know and I'll tell her to stop."

"Ike don't worry. I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"You're right. You're right. I should know that by now." Ike laughed. He took out his house key and unlocked the door. "Alright. Come on in."

"Hey Mist! I'm home!" Ike called out.

"Hey Ike! I've almost got dinner ready." Mist said.

"You have enough for three people?"

"Uh…yeah I guess so. Why?"

"I've brought a visitor. I thought you'd like to meet him."

Mist quickly exited the kitchen and came to see them. She looked at the man next to Ike.

"Hello Mist. I'm Snake. It's nice to meet you." He said and extended his hand. Mist reached out and shook his hand. Snake was glad he made a good first impression. He used to have trouble introducing himself to people in a pleasant manner.

"So you're the guy that kicked my brother's ass, right?" She joked.

"C'mon Mist! Really?" Ike groaned.

"To be fair, I beat your brother in a fist fight, which is my specialty. If it was a sword fight then the results would be quite different."

"I see."

Mist's smile went away and her tone became much more serious.

"I've been wanting to meet you for a while now so I can say…thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"For what?" Snake looked at her with confusion.

"For sparing my brother. For helping my brother. If you hadn't fought him he would still be doing wet work to get us food."

"Yeah. I have to thank you again for that. That was a bad, dangerous business I was in." Ike said.

"Well that's all in the past. What matters now is that you're off that road, and now you're following a better path." Snake said.

"You're right. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I'll have dinner ready in a few minutes." Mist smiled.

Mist soon prepared their meal and the three sat at the dinner table to eat together.

"I've heard a few things about you from Ike. I know I can trust what he tells me. But most of what I've heard about you comes from the many stories and legends people talk about." She explained. "I'm sure you of all people know that the truth tends to be stretched in those stories. So can I ask you a few things to clarify what's true and what's not?"

"Go for it." Snake replied.

"Are you a half-human, half-demon hybrid sent to this world to protect us?" She asked with a smirk.

Snake and Ike couldn't help but laugh a little at the question.

"Did someone actually say that?" Snake chuckled.

"They did."

"Well sorry to disappoint anyone, but I'm afraid that's not true."

"How about a demi-god?"

"Nope."

"An angel?"

"No."

"A superhero?"

"I don't have any super powers." Snake replied. And then he frowned. "Besides…I'm not a hero."

"What are you talking about? Of course you…"

"Mist! That's enough!" Ike cut in and warned her. He knew how it is. Snake does not like being called a hero. No matter how much people would try to convince him otherwise, he would tell them he was never a hero, and he never will be.

"Okay I get it. You're not a hero." She said. It was an unexpected response from her. Snake and Ike assumed that she was going to try to press on the matter like so many others had. "But do you consider yourself to be a villain?"

Snake was surprised by the question. He couldn't recall anyone directly asking him if he was a villain. Ike wanted to reprimand his sister for asking that question, but he was curious of what Snake's answer would be.

"No. I don't think of myself as villain."

"Alright. So all things you, my brother, and the other members of the Republic do…what does that make all of you?"

"We're just people. People trying to help others; trying to do what we think is right."

There was a brief silence after Snake's response. Mist's frown quickly turned into a bright smile.

"I really like that answer."

They all smiled. The tension around the table disappeared after that. The rest of the meal went very well.

* * *

After they finished eating, Mist said goodbye to Snake as Ike saw him out.

"Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate it." Ike said as he walked alongside Snake.

"No thanks needed. It was my pleasure." Snake assured.

"Listen. I'm sorry about things getting a bit tense back there. I had a feeling sh-"

"Ike! It's okay. I'm actually glad she brought it up."

"Really? Why?"

"Nobody has really asked me what I consider myself to be. And it's important that we don't forget who and what we are."

Ike was relieved to hear that, very glad his sister didn't rub Snake the wrong way.

"Yeah. We're just people trying to make a difference right?"

"That's right." Snake nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow Ike."

"Later Snake."

* * *

 _Unknown Area_

" _So you mean to say that Snake could very well be the strongest fighter in the wasteland?"_

" _Yes sir. That's what we've gathered from our scouts' information."_

" _But he's just a human isn't he? A human with no special powers."_

" _Yes sir, but that hasn't stopped him from defeating people more powerful than him."_

" _I see. That's quite impressive! Having someone like him would serve us well."_

" _Sir, I don't think we can convince him to join us. He will openly oppose us once we make our presence known."_

" _I don't mean that you idiot! I mean clone him! The scouts retrieved some form of his DNA haven't they?"_

" _Oh! Uh yes sir! We'll get right on that!"_

 _A few hours later._

" _All right. How's the cloning process coming along?"_

" _Sir? I'm afraid I have to tell you that we can't clone Snake."_

" _Why? What's the problem? You've done cloning before. And the first time we did, it went off without a hitch."_

" _I know! It should be very easy, but there's something about his genetic code that is giving us problems!"_

" _His genetic code?"_

" _I've never seen anything like it. It looks like it's been modified somehow. It's almost like it's actively refusing to be copied."_

" _Hmm…I think I know why."_

" _What's that sir?"_

" _Snake is a clone himself. He was created by an organization that's just as shadowy and illusive as we are. Maybe even more so. That group was apparently very protective of their work, not wanting their creations to be in anyone else's hands. They were able to make sure he couldn't reproduce, so I wouldn't doubt that they took the idea of someone else trying to clone him into consideration."_

" _So you're saying…"_

" _This is a lost cause. Shut this project down. We have to go back to the drawing board."_

" _Yes sir."_

" _Lucky you Snake. I guess you've got one thing you can thank the Patriots for. But in due time, I will bring this world into chaos. The way the world should be."_

* * *

One of the Nomad Squad's teams had arrived at the abandoned factory that Peach and another Nomad team cleared of mutants a few days prior. They were Team Echo, and they specialized in recovery/procurement missions.

"The area looks clear sir." The team scout reported and put his binoculars away.

"Good. Alright team! You know our orders. Look for any documents written by Crazy Hand. If you come across one, you secure it in a bag immediately. We want to bring those documents back in good condition. Understood?" The Commander by the name of Keith asked.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" The team sounded off.

It isn't often that one of the soldiers of the Nomad Squad asked a question. It wasn't because they were blind sheep, just following whatever their CO ordered. It was because Snake made sure that they knew what they were doing and why. He didn't have the people under his command on a "need-to-know" basis. He had been on the receiving end of that during his career and he hated it. Snake was completely transparent during mission briefings. They were filled in on what the purpose of the documents was, and what he and the other members of the UR planned to do with them.

Snake was transparent about information because he firmly believed that if a man or woman was going to put their life on the line for the sake of the mission, then they deserved to know everything. The soldiers appreciated this, as many of them were former members of the Committee's army and they were kept in the dark about so much.

As they searched around one of the soldiers, Jun, looked under a table with her flashlight and came across two sheets of paper.

"I think I've found them!" She reported to the others. She grabbed the papers and examined the writing. The handwriting was identical to the papers Snake had brought back. "Yep. This is definitely his writing."

"Good work! Quickly put it in the bag for safe transport!" The Commander ordered.

"Done!"

"Good. Everyone finish up your searches! Make sure we don't miss any!"

They searched an hour longer, but no other papers were found. But everyone was glad they came out with two papers.

* * *

"They've reported in. They found two more papers." Fox announced to the others after getting of the radio with the Nomad Team.

"Glad to hear it." Snake said with a small smile. "Make sure to give them a warm welcome when they get back."

"Your soldiers always get results. It's incredible!" Link said.

"It shouldn't be a surprise. I mean, look who trained them." Peach smiled.

"I can't take credit for what they do. I just try to give them the training and tools they need. The results they get are all due to them being good soldiers."

"Won't argue with that." Link agreed. "Anyway Snake, I'm sure you're going to be back out there in a few days. But you're not going alone this time. We're a team, after all."

Snake crossed his arms and groaned. "Yeah, I know. I know."

"Good. So I'm thinking you take three people with you when you take off. You get to pick. Who will it be?"

Snake scratched his chin as he thought of who he would bring with him. His quickly came to a decision.

"Ike, Bayonetta, and Peach. I want them to come with me."

"Alright. I'll be sure to let Ike and Bayo know." Link assured.

Peach was both shocked and excited that Snake had picked her to travel with him. She walked over to him, hiding her excitement.

"You really want me to come with you?" She asked.

"That's what I said. I heard you'd been doing some work with a few of the Nomad Squad teams. The soldiers have only told me good things about your performance. So I want to see it for myself." He explained. "That is if you want to."

"Of course I do! I promise I won't let you down!"

* * *

The next morning, Team Echo returned with Crazy Hand's journal entries. Snake and the group sat together in a room to read it.

 _Entry 3_

 _A week has gone by, and things have only gotten actively worse with each passing day. Even my brother has realized that there is something very wrong going on. The fool! I've been knowing that! Hell, Snake's been knowing that longer than me! You just had to pay attention to the little details and you could figure it out._

 _No. It took my brother coming across four fighters in the locker room attacking each other, maybe even trying to kill each other, because of an argument about who's the strongest. It's good that he broke the fight up when he did, because we might've had a dead fighter._

 _Only then was I able to convince him about the Smash Balls. I'm not sure if he truly believes me or not, but he seemed distraught. He looks like he'll do anything to make sure that this problem is resolved. So he agreed to disable the appearance of Smash Balls and stop production until they do an investigation on them._

 _I think this is a good decision. Hopefully things will start to get a little better._

* * *

 _Entry 4_

 _HOLY SHIT! THINGS DID NOT GET BETTER!_

 _Just a couple days after brother announced the suspicion of Smash Balls, several fighters raided production factories and stole them forcefully! Multiple workers were wounded and a few of them died._

 _I had my suspicions but it's clear now. Something about the Smash Balls has an addictive effect, very similar to narcotics. People often say that an addict will do anything to get their fix, but I don't recall drug addicts ever doing something so violent and dangerous._

 _My brother is furious, and the other fighters are panicking. I have a strong feeling that something terrible is about to happen. Something that no one is ready for. Well one of us has to ready for what's to come so it might as well be me!_

 _I'm going to prepare for the worst. Make sure the world can deal with whatever happens._

 _I'm scared…I am one of the two gods of this world and I am scared._


	6. Bomber

Snake put down the papers after they finished reading them. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"Shit…" Fox muttered.

"To think things got so out of hand that even the gods were afraid!" Zelda pondered.

"Not only that, but to think how much smarter Crazy Hand was than we made him out to be." Wolf added.

"But it's not like Master Hand was an idiot. So how could he have not noticed this for so long until the problem showed itself right in his face?" Bayo asked.

"I can't really say it's surprising." Snake answered. "Master Hand was the head of Smash Brothers, basically an owner of a company. There were a lot of things he had on his mind at once. I doubt he had the time to catch on to the little hints that Crazy picked up on."

"Sounds reasonable." Link thought. "So where do we go from here?"

"Crazy said he was going to start making 'preparations'. I want to know what those preparations were. I'm thinking the other pages will tell us." Snake said.

"Alright but there's just one problem." Peach stepped in. "We don't know which factory he went to next, or even if he went to one. And if he did, we might not find the pages in order like we were able to this time. Our luck can't last forever."

"Maybe so, but the factories are the only lead we have right now so we might as well search them until we can't get anything else from it." Ike suggested. "Besides! Knowing how unpredictable the wasteland can be, a new lead may even turn up while we're searching."

"Yeah! And if we don't find the pages in order, I'm sure when we have them we can figure out the times of which they were written. Think of it as a puzzle Peachy." Bayo smiled.

"I like this optimism." Krystal chuckled.

"I do too." Snake grinned. "Okay. Tomorrow my team and I will head out to look for the other pages."

"If that's the case then you'll want this." Robin handed a map to Snake. "Rosalina and I did some digging and we pinpointed the locations of other factories." She explained.

"Thanks."

"Don't get too excited. All we know is the locations. We don't know what's actually there. There could be people, even creatures holed up in them, who might not give you a warm welcome." She warned. Then her serious look changed with a smile and a laugh. "Of course look who I'm talking to. You've been in these situations more times than one can count. I'm sure you'll be fine."

* * *

To the far-South of the capital, there was a ruined city under siege by Kremlins. All the surviving citizens barred themselves inside a building, hoping they could hold out long enough for the UR's forces to come save them. Things were looking very grim. Many of the other citizens had been slaughtered, men, women and children alike. And now the 30 survivors were holding out in the building with the door barricaded. But that barricade was slowly coming apart, as the crocodiles continued to smash and scratch their way through it. If that door broke, it was over. The people were not suited to defend themselves against six Kremlins. But then the sound of a gunshot went off outside, and a bullet blew the head off one of the crocs, with a rain a blood and brains following. The others ceased their assault and turned around to the shooter.

The shooter, a tall muscular man with blond hair and a red bandana wrapped around his forehead, holstered his rifle and approached the Kremlins. He wore a brown bomber jacket, green cargo pants with a camoflauge pattern, and black boots. In otherwards, he looked just another human to the Kremlins. But this human didn't appear to be scared in the slightest by them, as evident with him being the one approaching them.

"What is this?" One of the crocs asked.

"I didn't think you things could talk." The man said, a New York-accent in his voice. "But since you can I may as well try to reason with you."

The Kremlins looked at the man with murderous intent, growling and hissing as he came near.

"So I'm going to ask you to leave. This isn't your town. You don't belong here. Leave now while you can."

"Fuck you! Kill him!" One of the Kremlins ordered the others. The all roared and charged at the man with rage.

The man simply chuckled as the five beasts closed in on him. As soon as they got close enough, he swung his right arm vertically with great power and speed, hitting all five with a massive chop that sent put them on their backs. A Kremlin got back up and went to attack, but the man chopped him again, the strength forcing the croc to turn around. The man wrapped his arms around the crocs head and put him in a headlock. With a tight squeeze, he broke the creature's neck. He tossed the corpse aside and dashed at another one with incredible speed, smashing his elbow into the creature's cranium. The monster was dazed, and the man drew out a Kabar knife and roughly slit its throat. He body slammed the next one and squashed its head beneath his boot. With pinpoint accuracy, he tossed his knife into another one's head, killing it instantly.

Now it was a 1-on-1 fight. The Kremlin swiped at the man, but he blocked. Then the man head-butted the creature once…twice…and then a third time. He grappled with the creature and then performed a wrestling powerbomb on it, several parts of the creatures spine heard breaking as it was slammed on its back. The Kremlin laid paralyzed, now at the man's mercy.

"Who are you?" It struggled to ask as the man approached

"I'm just the guy that killed you…" the man said as he took out his pistol. He took aim at the grounded croc's head. "Alex."

Alex pulled the trigger and killed the last of the Kremlins. Seeing that he finished up here, he saw it as time for him to go. The citizens came out of hiding after they were sure the coast was clear. The eagerly wished to thank their hero, but by the time they had gotten outside he was already far in the distance.

"WHOEVER YOU ARE…THANK YOU!" A woman shouted to him from afar. Alex stopped and turned to look at her. He showed a small smile and waved to her, and then continued his leave.

"I heard the shot from here!" A UR soldier said as he was followed by a large group of soldiers. They had their weapons raised expecting a fight. But when they got there they saw the corpses of Kremlins. The citizens were gathered around and looked to the soldiers. Both sides were unsure how to respond.

"Uh…are you all okay?" A soldier asked. The citizens nodded in confirmation. "Good. We're here to escort you back to the Capital whenever you're ready."

* * *

"Got something I think you'd be interested to hear." Link said to Snake, who was getting everything he needed for his travels.

"What is it?"

"Looks like the vigilante game is still going."

"Hm?"

"We picked up a distress signal the other day; a city was under attack. Of course I sent some of the troops to neutralize the threat and rescue the citizens. But when they got there, it turned out somebody did the first part for us."

"What was the threat?"

"Kremlins, six of them. Apparently the guy took most of them out using just his bare hands. One of the citizens said he was basically wrestling the crocodiles."

"Sounds pretty damn strong. So what's his alias?"

"They just decided to call him 'Bomber' because of the bomber jacket he wore."

"Interesting."

"So what do you think we should do? Should we look for him? Maybe see if we can convince him to join up with us?"

"No. As long as he's out there helping people, we leave him be. He's probably stopped several attacks on civilians that might not have shown on our radar. I can only see what he's doing as a good thing, so just let him do his thing."

"You got it."

* * *

Whenever news of a vigilante comes out, people often wonder what's their motivation to do what they do. Sure, people are very grateful that they're out there risking their lives to fight against the threats of the wasteland, but is the reason that they do it truly a selfless one? Did they do it because it's the right thing to do, or are they motivated by something different entirely, with saving people just being a part of the process?

So what was Alex's reason for fighting? Helping people was the main reason. Even before the world became a wasteland, he absolutely hated those who prey on the weak. However, this wasn't the only reason.

The other reason Alex fought was because he was just really damn good at it. And he considered it to be the only thing he was good at. He had been fighting for most of his life, and enjoyed participating in Street Fighter tournaments. Back in the civilized world he could never really hold down a job. And now that the world was full of conflict, he figured he might as well put his fighting abilities to good use.

He had noticed that since the establishment of the UR, things had become much less hectic. Things were safer, and his encounters with the scum of the wasteland had been drastically reduced. So why hadn't he chosen to join up with the group that seemed to have the same goal in mind as him?

After living through the reign of the Committee, Alex was quite cautious of groups that held some authority. He was worried that the UR would eventually fall down the same path as their predecessor. But despite his worries, he would not deny that in the short time that they've been established, they have made more of an impact than the Committee had in their years of existence, and a positive impact at that. He had seen that UR soldiers had arrived at the attacked city just after he had left. Sure, they may have been too late if he had not stepped in, but at the very least he knew that they tried, something he had never seen from the Committee.

So for now, he remained cautious of the UR, but cautiously optimistic at the very least.

* * *

Snake, Bayonetta, Ike and Peach stood outside the border of the Capital, getting prepared to venture out into the Wasteland.

"Radio check." Snake said.

"Check" the other three confirmed.

"All right good. Communications are fine. Everyone have what they need?"

"We're all set darling." Bayo assured.

"Ready to go!" Peach cheered.

"I've got my sword, and that's all I need." Ike smirked.

"Great. Then let's move out." Snake pointed forward.

* * *

In the Northern part of the wasteland, there was a mountain. The top of this mountain was known by the people who lived around it as "Warrior's Peak". At the top lived a powerful Darknut known as Deacon. But this Darknut wasn't like the ones that Link and Zelda were so familiar with. This one was not evil, and was actually quite civil and articulate. It was also very wise, and somehow knew most of what was going on in the wasteland despite never leaving the top of the mountain.

What he did have in common with other Darknuts is incredible fighting ability. He was willing to test the mettle of anyone who came up his mountain to challenge him. For such battles he used a special wooden sword crafted by himself. It had the power to clash with real blades, but without the lethality.

It is said that if one bested Deacon in combat, he would share his knowledge with the warrior, answering whatever questions he could. But he had yet to be defeated.

As Deacon sat atop the mountain, he noticed the presence of a challenger. He was familiar with this challenger, as he had fought Deacon before and lost. Now it was time to test him again. He turned to face his challenger.

"If it isn't the crestfallen swordsman. Do you wish to try again…Cloud?"


	7. The Crestfallen Swordsman

"Quiet Deacon! I'm here to fight. We'll talk when I win. And then you will tell me what I want to know!" Cloud pointed his buster sword towards the knight.

"I suggest you turn around and comeback another day Cloud. You will not defeat me. And so long as the bitterness in your soul remain, that will not change." Deacon warned.

Cloud bolted towards Deacon, his sword at the ready. He swung his blade down at Deacon. At what seemed to be light speed, Deacon pulled his sword out and blocked Cloud's strike.

"Hmph…if you insist."

Deacon kicked Cloud right in the chest, pushing him back. The battle had begun. The two circled around, not taking their eyes off the other. Deacon was quite intimidating. He stood at least eight feet tall, and held his massive sword in just one hand. Unlike other Darknuts, he did not use a shield.

Cloud shouted as he moved towards Deacon and attacked. He swung his Buster sword three times, each strike blocked was blocked. He blocked two of Deacons attacks, while ducking under the third. He used the opening to slice at his legs, getting a successful hit. However, Deacon didn't seem fazed by the attack. Deacon stomped on the ground with great force, creating a small shockwave that sent Cloud tumbling back. Cloud sent a green Blade Beam from his sword at Deacon. He used it as a distraction to leap in the air and do a plunging attack. Deacon smacked the beam away with his open hand, and then rolled away from Cloud's attack. Deacon's size deceived his agility. The knight was actually very quick and athletic despite his massive figure.

Deacon thrusted his sword and hit Cloud with the blunt tip of the blade. Cloud was knocked on his back from the hit.

"Anger is not the weapon of true fighters Cloud."

"Shut the fuck up!" Cloud pounded the ground as he rose to his feet.

"It will not lead you to victory. It will lead you right into your own grave."

Not wishing to hear anymore, Cloud dashed at Deacon and attacked with a flurry of slashes. Deacon blocked many of his attacks, but a few managed to make their mark. But Deacon didn't stagger when he got hit, having seemingly unbreakable poise. Cloud went for another strike, but Deacon smacked his blade aside with his bare hand and hit Cloud with a massive shoulder bash. Cloud stumbled back, and Deacon followed up with a downward slice. Luckily for Cloud, he managed to dash away to avoid getting crushed while positioning himself behind Deacon. He winded up for a strong attack, but any hopes of it landing were crushed when Deacon kicked Cloud in the face. An upward slash launched Cloud up, and Deacon kicked him mid-air as he was coming down.

"Anger causes frustration." Deacon began, walking towards Cloud as he slowly rose to his feet. Cloud thrusted his sword forward, but Deacon dodged to the side and smashed Cloud with a fierce right hook.

"Frustration leads to recklessness." Then Deacon grabbed Cloud by the throat and lifted him off the ground, showing his incredible strength.

"And recklessness causes death."

Cloud struggled to free himself from the Knight's grip, but with no success.

"It's a path that leads to a terrible fate, yet you continue to tread that path without a second thought. Is this truly the fate you seek?"

Cloud didn't say a word, refusing to answer the question. Deacon then slammed Cloud onto the ground, making his back burn with terrible pain. As he laid on the ground, Deacon kicked his Buster sword out of his reach and held his sword against Cloud's throat.

"Yield, Cloud. You've lost."

"Dammit!" Cloud muttered. "Fine! You win."

Deacon sheathed his sword and stepped away from his defeated opponent.

"Cloud Strife. A meaningful surname, don't you think? You always seem to be conflicted about something. Makes me wonder if there was ever a time you were actually happy about your life."

"Don't preach to me Deacon!" Cloud threatened.

"And if I don't then what? Are you going to fight me? That hasn't worked out well for you the past two times." Deacon taunted, Cloud letting out an irritated growl. "You will never defeat me so long as you are a part of the crestfallen."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Cloud asked.

"Because honestly Cloud, you're just so damn depressing to be around. You're always wallowing in your own self-pity, blaming the world for all your problems. You have no goals, no motivation, no purpose. You care for no one but yourself." Deacon said with brutal honesty. "You seem to think that your life has it the worst, but really there are so many people that have it just as bad, if not worse than you do. And yet many of them still carry on, holding onto hope and keep moving forward."

Cloud just remained silent, arms folded and back turned to Deacon. He looked bitter as always.

"I don't see why they bother. Things won't get any better. Even when things start looking up, it's bound to come crumbling down anyway."

"If everyone had the same mindset as you, then that would be true. Fortunately, people like Snake and the other members of the United Republic don't think that way, and are actually out there making a difference. And those people have been through things that would make most people give up. If anyone can beat me, it's probably one of them."

"And why is that? Do they have something I don't?"

"Yes. Something to fight for. Their goal is admirable. Putting their lives on the line to protect the people who just want to make a life for themselves. They have motivation, you don't. And that is why you'll never defeat me. Now get off my mountain!" Deacon ordered.

And so Cloud descended that mountain angry and defeated. As for what he would do next he didn't know. And frankly, he didn't care. Such is the attitude of the Crestfallen swordsman, Cloud Strife.


	8. He Who Fights Monsters

Snake and his group continued their journey to the next Smash Ball factory. They traveled all day, and now the sun had set. The night was coming.

"It's getting dark. I think it's about time we find somewhere to rest." Snake said.

"Are you sure? I mean we can keep moving." Ike replied.

"I prefer not to travel at night. It becomes difficult to be aware of your surroundings and it's much easier to get caught in an ambush. Besides, we're not in a rush."

"Well a little rest sounds nice. What do you think Peach?" Bayonetta asked.

"I agree. I'd like to give my legs a rest."

"Alright well if everyone else is on board, I am too." Ike said.

"Good. Let's find a spot to set up camp."

The group found an abandoned warehouse. Checking inside they found it was secure and would be a safe place to rest. Using some materials he found scattered across the wasteland as fuel, Snake set up a campfire for them.

"Quite the handyman, aren't you?" Bayonetta said.

"It's just something I learned in training." Snake responded. "Necessity is the mother of invention. Sometimes you've got to use whatever you have to get the job done."

"Well you have to teach me how to makeshift things. That sounds useful." Peach said.

"I'll teach you when we get back." Snake laughed. He looked over to Ike, also sitting near the fire. But he seemed to be lost in his thoughts, and whatever he was thinking about it was making him pissed.

"Hey, Ike!"

"Huh?" Ike's stammered as his focus came back to reality.

"You're looking a bit angry there. Is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah! Sorry, I'm just still kind of shocked about Palutena."

"Oh! The racist goddess?" Bayonetta labeled her.

"Yeah, who would have thought she'd be such a bigot?"

"Look I don't agree with her decision, but regardless it is her decision. If she wants to separate her world from ours then she can. As long as her world doesn't give us any problems, then I don't mind." Snake reasoned.

"Yeah. And besides we don't need her. Look at all the things we've done without her help!" Peach said to lighten the mood.

"Well I can't argue with that. We've certainly come a long way haven't we?" Ike grinned.

"I guess we have." Snake smiled.

"So how far from the factory do you think we are, Snake?" Bayonetta asked.

"We made pretty good ground today, so I'd say about a six hour walk tomorrow."

"Sounds great!" Peach cheered.

"Now hold on, don't get too excited just yet. It'll be a six hour walk if we don't get interrupted. I have to admit I'm surprised we didn't run into any trouble today, but I don't think we'll get lucky twice. Especially since this factory is located in uncharted territory. I've never been there before so I don't know what to expect."

"So what do we do if we don't know what to expect?" Peach asked.

"Expect anything. Just be able to face whatever we come across."

"That's a rather odd mentality, but it's better than just fearing the unknown." Bayonetta shrugged.

"That's right. It's better to be cautious than to be afraid. Now let's go ahead and get some sleep."

* * *

The sun went up and they immediately went back to traveling. After three hours they had made it into the region of uncharted territory. Not long after their arrival they were greeted with a very violent sight.

"What the hell is going on over there?" Ike said as he looked at a mob of people in the distance all engaged in a skirmish.

"They're fighting, that much I know." Snake said as he witnessed a man impale another man with a sword. "But they're all fighting each other. It's not a gang versus another gang, it's just one big battle royale."

"There are some using their fists, some using swords, and some using arm cannons…" Bayonetta trailed off as what she said sounded familiar to her.

"Oh my god! Those are Miis!" Peach gasped.

"Miis?" Snake questioned, not aware of what that meant.

"Remember the Alloys from the third tournament?" She asked.

"Those metallic things that we'd face during multi-man challenges? Yeah, I remember those."

"Well, these are Mii Fighters, and they replaced the alloys for the fourth tournament."

"Really? They look like people."

"Not just that. They acted like people too. Each one had a personality. Not all of them were fighters either. Some of them integrated into society, being civilians, having jobs." Ike explained.

"I see. So what's the problem with these guys?"

"I have no idea."

"Whatever the case is, they're in the way of where we need to be. What do we do Snake?" Bayonetta asked.

Snake continued watching the Miis engage in their civil war, rubbing his chin as he thought of how to handle the situation.

"We'll try to reason with them if possible. But if that turns out to be a lost cause…we have to eliminate them."

The others were saddened to hear that second option.

"Damn! I was afraid you might say that." Bayonetta frowned.

"I know; I don't want to do it either. I'd prefer to avoid conflict as much as possible, but right now these people look like blood-drunk killers. They may not stop at just killing each other, they could be a danger to civilians as well. We can't take any chances."

"Right. This is our duty." Ike said and brought out his sword. The others readied their weapons as well. "Let's get this over with."

The group walked towards the battle that continued raging on. There was now a good amount of corpses sprawled out on the battlefield. They were now very close to the Miis, and attempted to get their attention.

"Hey! Stop this!" Ike shouted.

"Why the hell are you all killing each other?!" screamed Bayonetta.

Despite their shouting, the Miis didn't even notice the four. They continued focusing on killing whoever their current target was. Seeing that shouting was going to get their attention, Snake drew out his pistol and shot to the sky. The loud blast stopped the Miis and they all turned to Snake.

"Would any of you care to tell me why you're all turning this spot into a bloodbath?" Snake questioned.

None of them spoke, just continuing to stare Snake down. But there was something about them that just looked off. Their faces and eyes show little to no emotion. They looked so lifeless, almost robotic. As if everything they did was pure instinct.

"Uh…can you speak?"

A Mii Brawler dashed towards Snake at high speed like a savage beast. He threw his fist forward, but Snake caught his hand and put him in an arm lock.

"It never can be that easy, can it?" Snake sighed. He threw the Brawler over his shoulder and onto the ground. A Swordsman came lunging his blade toward Snake. Ike stepped in and protected Snake by parrying the attack, knocking the sword out of the Mii's hands. Then Ike hit the Sword Mii with a massive kick to the face, knocking him into the Brawler that Snake had taken down. The Brawler then started wailing on the Swordman for unknown reasons. Then the other Miis also began fighting each other again, though several began approaching Snake and his companions.

"I don't think we'll be talking our way out of this." Peach deduced.

"Then let's put an end to this!" Bayonetta shouted and began opening fire alongside Peach.

Snake noticed a Gunner aiming for Bayonetta.

"Bayo!" He shouted and tossed her a reflector. She caught it and activated it just in time to deflect a charged shot back at the gunner. Ike dashed forward and cut down a few Miis, and blocked the attacks of a swordsman that approached him. Snake gunned down Ike's attacker down as well as a few more coming towards him. A Brawler attempted to get the jump on Snake from behind, but got shot down by Peach. A plasma shot nicked Snake in the shoulder, making him grunt in pain before shooting the attacking Gunner in retaliation. Two more fighters approached Snake, both of which he attacked with his machete. Peach grouped up with Snake to assist him.

"You all right Snake?"

"Yeah. Just a scratch."

Peach stabbed another attacker with her combat knife, and followed with killing several more with her pistol. A Brawler managed to sneak in a kick to her gut. Snake caught her before she fell down, and killed her attacker with a headshot.

"Back on your feet soldier!"

"Thanks Snake."

"Ike! Bayo! Group up on us!" Snake ordered.

"Got it!" The two said and began making their way towards Snake in the midst of battle. Miis got in their way as they attempted to unite with Snake and Peach. Ike parried an attack and followed with a riposte, impaling the MIi. He kicked the Mii's body off of his blade. But after doing so, a swordsman managed to slice at Ike's back with the very tip of its blade. Before Ike or Bayonetta could retaliate though, the attacker was tackled by another Mii and then killed by it, a reminder that this group wasn't really on the same team.

"Ike! Is it bad?" Bayonetta asked in concern as she helped Ike up.

"No, thankfully. Wasn't a deep cut." He assured. "Let's group up with Snake and Peach."

The group finally managed to unite on the battlefield. But this fight had been going on for almost an hour and a half.

"Damn this is exhausting!" Bayonetta said.

"I know, but there aren't that many left. Thankfully while we were fighting, they were still killing each other." Ike replied.

"I'm only counting ten still alive." Snake reported as he examined the battlefield. "Let's put an end to this."

Mounting one last offensive, the group succeeded in eliminating all hostiles in the area with relative ease.

"It's over." Peach sighed with relief. "Did anyone get injured?"

"I got grazed on the back, but it's nothing that will slow me down." Ike said.

"Let me take a look at it." Snake requested. Ike turned around and let Snake examine the injury. "Yeah it's a small cut. Let's take care of it just to be safe."

Taking out his first-aid kit, Snake pulled out a disinfectant spray and a bandage.

"This may sting a little." Snake warned and sprayed the cut, applying the bandage afterwards. "There you go. You're patched up."

"Thanks."

"I can't believe what just happened." Peach said sadly.

"Me either. What in the world happened to the poor fools?" Bayonetta asked.

"Whenever you fought them in multi-man battles, were they always like that?" Snake asked.

"Like what?"

"It's hard to say but the way they acted was very animalistic. Like they weren't even thinking about what they were doing, they were just fighting out of instinct. They attacked like beasts, not even knowing friend or foe."

"No. We've never seen them act so aggressive." Peach answered.

"I see. Well in any case the factory isn't that far away so we have to keep moving. We'll have to find out more about this later."

"Right. And who knows? Maybe we'll learn more on the way." Ike shrugged.

* * *

After an hour of traveling the group had made it to the entrance of the warehouse.

"Damn! The door's locked!" Peach cursed as she tried to enter.

"Stand back, I'll take care of it." Ike grinned as Peach stepped to the side. With one clean slice, Ike cut the door in half and kicked the pieces down.

"Well that's one way to unlock a door." Bayonetta laughed.

The group entered the warehouse, but one of the first things they saw was five Miis. They instinctively raised their weapons, preparing for another fight.

"Please don't shoot!" A female Mii shouted, her and the others in a corned cowering in fear.

Snake was surprised to hear her speak, as the Miis they encountered didn't say a word.

"Weapons down team." Snake ordered.

"She seems to still be sane." Bayonetta said.

"Okay calm down! Sorry to scare you but we weren't sure what to expect. We won't hurt any of you." Peach assured to calm the Miis down. They seemed to finally relax. "I'm Peach. And this is Snake, Ike and Bayonetta. What's your name?"

"I'm…I'm Samantha." She said. "How did the four of you make it here? Surely you must of run into the Hunters."

"The Hunters? You mean a large group of Mii fighters in the Wasteland?" Snake questioned.

"Yes that's right."

"We had to take them down. We tried to talk them down but they wouldn't listen I'm afraid."

"They're gone? Oh thank goodness!"

"Were they the reason you five bunkered down in this warehouse?"

"That's right. After they went berserk, we were in danger so we went into hiding."

"So they weren't always like that?"

"That's right." An old man entered the conversation. "Oh! Pardon me! Where are my manners? My name is Harold."

"It's alright Harold. Please continue."

"The Hunters were a group of Mii fighters that hunted and protected us civilians from vile beasts that roamed the Wasteland. They were good, noble people."

"That would explain why you call them the Hunters. So what went wrong?"

"About a month ago, the beasts stopped appearing. The threats were gone, and the Hunters didn't have anything to fight. Then they started acting differently. They were aggressive, hostile, just unsettling to be around. And not too long after that, they became what you saw out there." The man frowned.

"Did any of the Hunters not go insane?" Ike asked.

"Yes. Gerald, the leader of the Mii Hunters stayed sane. In fact, he's here with us, just in the other room."

"Alright, maybe we should ask him a few questions to find out more about this. But above all else we need to get Crazy Hand's pages." Snake said to the group.

They entered an office room to find Gerald. A rugged looking Mii dressed in a longcoat and a gun at his waist, sitting on a desk chair.

"So you four put my comrades to rest?" Gerald said before any of the others could say a word. "Don't worry. The walls don't have ears. They're just very thin."

"We're very sorry…" Peach frowned.

"Don't be, I'm glad you did it. They were dangerous. If they weren't killing each other, then they would've started killing other people. And that also means I can move these people back to the settlement now that the road's clear."

"They said that this started happening about a month ago. I don't think that's a coincidence." Snake said.

"You're damn right it's no coincidence. That's when the monsters stopped showing up. There used to be mutant beasts all over the place. So that's why I started up the Hunters, so that we could protect people from these monsters. That's my motivation anyway. Now I'm starting to think that a lot of Miis joined up just so they could fight something." Gerald explained.

"What makes you think that?" Bayonetta asked.

"We Miis were created and designated with a purpose by Master Hand. Mii fighters of course, were created for fighting. And unless we find our own goals or purpose, then our purpose will always be to fight. So what happens when a Mii fighter runs out of things to fight? If they didn't find another purpose other than fighting, then what would they do?"

"I'd imagine they'd have a major existential crisis." Snake replied.

"Exactly! They begin to question themselves, wondering what they're supposed to do. If they don't have fighting, they feel like they have nothing. And slowly but surely, the need to fight something grows. And then they snap! They lose self-control and just start attacking anything in sight. They become what they used to fight…beasts."

"But there are still Mii fighters out there that haven't lost it yet. Is it possible to save them?" Peach asked.

"If you can help them find a new purpose in their life, then they'll be fine. But once they go feral, there's no coming back." Gerald warned.

"I think we should set up some sort of program to help Mii fighters." Peach said.

"I agree. We'll need to set one up in each U.R. settlement, maybe even further than that if we can." Snake replied.

"So you people are part of the United Republic I've been hearing about?" Gerald asked.

"That's right."

"Well I appreciate what you've done for us today, but I have a feeling you didn't come here to deal with the feral Hunters. So why are you here? In this factory specifically?"

"We're looking for some documents related to Crazy Hand and we think they might be here. Would you mind if we looked around?"

"Knock yourselves out. This isn't our property; we've just been using it for shelter. I'll be taking the others to the Onett settlement soon."

"Alright. Stay safe."

"You too."

After Gerald left the room, the group looked around for the documents. It didn't take them long; it was right in one of the shelves. Now it was time to see what was written.


	9. Broken Promise

_Entry 5_

 _Doomsday is approaching. I've ran several solutions through the computer to find out how to solve this, and none of them would work. It's inevitable. I expect all the megalomaniac fighters will all fight, to see who's the "strongest". But they won't get their answer, as their fight will result in a catastrophe the entire world will suffer from. They will more than likely be killed by it._

 _The world that we know is going to be destroyed. And from the ashes of the old world, a new one will rise. I don't know if Master will live to see it, but I've made preparations to ensure my survival._

 _However, when I go into my shelter…I won't be coming out. I will not take any part in creating the new world, I will merely exist in it. The destruction of this world is a clear sign that brother and I have failed in our duty of being the guardians of the world. I've decided that the survivors are the ones that will decide the fate of the world. It belongs to them, not me._

 _That being said, there is one last thing I wish to do for this world. There are some people whose survival I feel must be guaranteed. People who have powers, abilities, or skills that are too important to be lost. With their survival, hopefully they will pass down their knowledge to others so that it may be used in the future._

 _I may be able to write one more entry before things go to hell. Nothing guaranteed though._

* * *

Snake put down the paper after they finished reading it.

"Well, now we know that he's alive." Bayonetta said.

"Yeah, but we have no idea about this shelter he's made. Where it is? What does it look like? How to get in?" Peach noted.

"There's also something else we have to consider." Ike stated. "What if he doesn't want to be found?"

The others were silent as they pondered this.

"Think about it. He's said that he's decided to not use his powers to intervene in the world's affairs. If we were to find him and ask him for help, he'd probably refuse. Do you think it'd be better if we respected his wishes?"

"We will, because we're not looking for him for his powers." Snake replied.

"Really?"

"Yes. We're looking for him for his knowledge. I only saw a little bit of what happened during the Catastrophe. He's the only one that truly knows what happened."

"So we're looking for him to satiate our curiosity?" Bayonetta questioned.

"No, not just for us. The world deserves to know what happened. He talked about passing down knowledge. His knowledge is history of the world. And if people don't know history, then they're bound to repeat it." Snake explained.

"Okay. I think I get what you're saying." Peach assured.

"Yeah, me too." Ike said.

"Let's not forget that there might be one more letter that we need to find. We should tie up that loose end before we do anything else." Bayo reminded.

"Agreed. Alright team, let's move out." Snake commanded.

Traveling out from where they were, Ike spotted somebody in the distance.

"Hey! I see somebody over there!" Ike pointed. The others turned to look in the pointed direction. Snake pulled out his binoculars to get a better visual of the person of interest.

"It's a man. He's got blonde hair, with a strange hair cut at that. He's wearing mostly black and…what the hell is that on his back?" Snake wondered aloud as he looked at what appeared to be the man's weapon.

The other three seemed to realize who it was from Snake's description. The man seemed to be heading in their direction, so they went to meet him.

"Do you know who that is?" Snake asked.

"I think we do." Bayonetta smirked.

They finally met up with the man. Confirming the other three's suspicions, it was Cloud Strife.

"Cloud!" Peach called out.

"Oh…it's the wonderful people of the UR. Fantastic." Cloud said in a monotonous tone.

Ike crossed his arms and growled at him. "Still an asshole after seven years I see."

"Very funny."

"Let me guess. You were in the fourth tournament, right?" Snake asked.

"Yeah that's right. You must be Snake; the old man a lot of people talk about."

"What's that thing on your back?" Snake asked, referring to the Buster Sword. Cloud looked confused by him asking that.

"The hell does it look like? It's my sword."

"You can't call that a sword. Its design is so crude. It's too big, too thick. It's more of a slab of iron than a sword." Snake critiqued the weapon.

"Okay. Is that a problem for you or something?" Cloud asked, unsure as to where Snake was going with this.

"Don't mind him. He's a weapons specialist. He likes to observe weapons foreign to him is all." Peach assured.

"Whatever. How's your organization's pointless mission going?"

Ike, Peach, and Bayonetta scoffed at his statement.

"I see you're still as gloomy as ever. Still an angsty little teen in a man's body!" Bayo insulted. Cloud got closer to her, with anger in his eyes.

"You shut your fucking mouth!" He cursed.

Snake quickly got between the two and separated them from each other.

"Alright! Let's calm down now!" He ordered.

"You can call it whatever you want Cloud, but at least we're actually doing shit instead of wallowing in self-pity." Ike sneered.

"Enough!" Snake gestured for his group to be quiet. He turned back to Cloud. "Alright. You want to talk about our mission? Then let's talk."

"You look jaded. You've seen some shit haven't you?"

"Maybe. What are you getting at?"

"You don't look like a typical wide-eyed idealist. Surely you know how futile your groups goal is."

"You're going to have to be a lot more specific. Cause we might have conflicting opinions on what's futile and what's not."

Cloud sighed in frustration. "Trying to rebuild the world. Sure it's an admirable cause, but ultimately a waste of time. Because some day, somethings going to happen that destroys it again. And then all your hard work, all your sacrifices would be for nothing."

"I understand what you mean, but I don't see it that way." Snake objected. "In fact, you seem to misunderstand our mission. We're not trying to change the world back to the way it used to be. We know that's not going to happen."

"Then what are you trying to do?" Cloud questioned.

"We're trying to make things better for people in this chaotic world. Trying to make their lives a little easier, a little more enjoyable even in this chaotic world. Teaching people that just because these are trying times, doesn't mean we can't help each other out."

"Okay. But why do you think it's your job to do this? You don't owe these people anything."

"We don't see it as a job. We see it as our purpose."

"Why's that?"

"Think about it. We have certain skills, abilities or powers that not everybody has. Things that allow us to do things most people can't. If we have these abilities, then we should have a reason to use them. So we decide to use them to help those in need, to protect those who can't protect themselves."

"If somebody can't protect themselves, then that's their fault."

"So what, you think we should just use our abilities for our own benefit?"

"Maybe…"

"See that's the mentality we're trying to get rid of. Selfishness. Is living only for yourself really a life worth living?"

Cloud remained silent, not responding to Snake's question. He just looked away.

"You know what I see when I look at you Cloud?" Snake asked.

"What?"

"I see a man who has lost something, or someone very close to him. And he just can't move on."

Cloud pulled out his sword and pointed it towards Snake. Ike pulled out his sword, ready to strike if Cloud made a move. "You don't know shit about me old man!" Cloud said angrily.

"Really? Cause it seems I struck a chord." Snake pointed out. He hadn't even flinched as the sword was dangerously close to his face. Cloud look embarrassed by his outburst that broke his stoic demeanor, and put away his sword with a scowl on his face.

"You know I don't really think you believe in all these nihilistic beliefs that you've expressed to me." Snake added. "Because if you really believed that everything we do is ultimately meaningless and that there's no point in life…you would have killed yourself by now."

The others looked shocked at that callous statement.

"Snake!" Peach stammered.

"Well he does have a point." Ike said.

Cloud looked almost frightened by Snake's statement, and even more so when Snake put a pistol on the ground in front of him.

"That gun has one bullet in it. If you truly believe everything you say, if the world really is as bad as you say it is…kill yourself! Prove me wrong!"

Cloud held the gun in his hand, sweating nervously. He was in utter disbelief. This man was calling him out, challenging him on his supposed "beliefs". Everyone else would just say he's pathetic and he would just shrug them off. Now Cloud was starting to question himself. Thoughts were racing through his head, too many thoughts…it hurt his head. Unable to stand it, Cloud dropped the gun and ran off.

" _That's what I thought."_ Snake thought to himself.

"Shit Snake! That was quite brutal don't you think?" Bayonetta commented.

"Brutal, perhaps. But I do believe it was effective."

"What do you think he'll do from here?" Peach asked.

"Hopefully he'll reconsider his thoughts about life. Maybe he'll take our mission into account. He could end up being a powerful ally. But that's for him to decide. Now let's keep moving."

* * *

Deacon the old Darknut was meditating on his mountain. Then he heard someone making their way up. He stood up to face the potential challenger. Turning around he saw a muscular blonde man wearing a bomber jacket. It was Alex.

"Uh…hello." Alex nervously greeted. "Are you the one they call Deacon?" He asked.

Deacon looked at him curiously, humored by his polite demeanor. "I am. You must be the one they call Bomber. I've heard about you." The Darknut said.

"That's just a nickname people made. My name's Alex."

"Very well Alex. Do you wish to challenge me in battle for answers to whatever questions you may have?"

"That sounds nice, but I'll pass."

Deacon was surprised by the answer. "Really? Then what have you travelled up my mountain for?"

"I've heard that you're really strong, so I'd like to ask if you would spar with me." Alex requested. "Maybe I could learn somethings from you and get stronger."

"I see. However, you must answer me this. Why do you wish to grow stronger?"

"Well there's a lot of bad dudes in the Wasteland y'know. I haven't faced all of them and I know they could be incredibly powerful. So I gotta be strong enough so I can protect people from them."

Deacon smiled after his answer. This man was a polar opposite of the Crestfallen swordsman he previously faced.

"Very well Alex. I will spar with you. May we both become stronger from this."

The two began their friendly battle. They fought for a good 15 minutes. Deacon was quite impressed with Alex's resilience. He showed much more determination than a certain crestfallen swordsman. Though he didn't win, he put up a hell of a fight.

"Damn you're strong." Alex said, panting from exhaustion.

"You have shown much strength yourself, young warrior. And it isn't just a result of your training and skills, but also your spirit."

"Well thanks."

"Where did you hear about me?" Deacon asked.

"People in the villages below the mountain talk a lot about you. Heard all kinds of stories, and heard about how strong you are. I didn't care about the "defeat Deacon and he will grant you knowledge. I just wanted to improve myself." Alex explained.

Deacon chuckled. "You are an odd one indeed, but I mean that in a good way. You really are willing to help others. Have you considered joining the UR and their cause?"

"I have. They seem like good people. But there's a skeptical part of me that keeps me from making a decision."

"What is it that makes you skeptical?"

"I feel like they could end up turning bad like the Committee did. And I'd be working for some bad people without even realizing it." Alex answered. "I could just be paranoid though."

"There's nothing wrong with being cautious Alex. There are many different things that could happen. The world often makes unexpected turns." Deacon noted. "However, in my eyes, the members of the UR are good people who wish to help others. I've seen it for myself. I think you'd make a great addition to the group."

"All right. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you Deacon. It was an honor to meet you." Alex waved goodbye and made his leave.

"Good-bye my friend. May you be safe on your travels."

* * *

Lucina, Fox and Luigi traveled with a small group of troops to investigate a nearby city. They received a report of possible conflict in the area, and set out to find out what's going on.

"We're getting close. Be on your guard!" Lucina warned.

Traveling slowly through the city, they hadn't come across anything yet.

"Seems way too quiet, and there's not a person in sight." Fox said.

"Something's going on…let's keep looking." Luigi urged.

Shortly after, they found what the reports were about, and it was a gruesome sight. Every civilian in the area, chopped up into pieces. Blood, viscera and piles of mutilated bodies littered the ground. And standing atop it all were two Skeleton creatures with black cloaks and a scythe in hand. The blades were red with still wet blood.

"Reapers!" Lucina gasped. Her shock then turned to anger. "Attack!" She commanded. The group rushed at the Reapers armed and ready. The monsters turned to look at the charge. Significantly outnumbered, they began summoning Reapettes to assist them. The smaller versions of their summoners rose from the ground and headed towards the group.

"Be careful! Those things may be weak, but they're strong in numbers! Don't let them surround us!" Lucina said to the others.

"Gotcha. The soldiers and I will take care of the little shits. You and Luigi focus on the Reapers." Fox planned as he and the soldiers started eliminating Reapettes with well placed shots.

Lucina and Luigi got up close to the Reapers. The one facing Lucina swung its Scythe at her. She deflected it with her Falchion. Luigi ducked under a swipe from the other one, and hit it with a leg sweep. It swiped up at him as he attempted to approach it, grazing his left arm. Luigi struck back with a fireball, knocking the monster back.

Lucina continued to clash with the other Reaper. She had yet to land an attack, but only because she was waiting for the perfect moment to land a critical strike. The Reaper, frustrated with her defense, began attacking more aggressively but also with recklessness. Lucina saw her moment and parried, knocking its weapon to the side and then thrusting her blade through the monster's skull. Its skeleton body fell apart, the dark spirit was vanquished.

Luigi finally finished things up on his end, setting the Reaper ablaze. It attempted to swing at him one last time, but its bones had turned to ash before it could.

With both Reapers dead, all the remaining Reapettes disappeared.

"All clear!" Lucina confirmed.

Fox walked over to Lucina and Luigi, all three of them looking very angry.

"Reapers…in our world?!" Luigi clenched his fist.

"I thought we had an agreement! If we didn't bring any of our problems to Skyworld, then she'd keep their problems to themselves!" Fox said referring to Palutena.

"That was the agreement. We need to let the others know about this. She's got some explaining to do…" Lucina scowled.

* * *

 **Sorry it's been awhile since the last update. I've been working on some other projects, went on vacation, and other things.**

 **Also I'm kind of upset at the lack of stories featuring Snake. He's a good character but everyone seems to overlook him since Smash 4 came out. I guess he doesn't have as much appeal as the Fire Emblem, Zelda, Xenoblade and Kid Icarus characters that people love to ship together. No disrespect to any of those characters or anyone that writes stories starring them, it's just those characters get a story pretty much every day.**

 **My complaints aside, feel free to review and feel free to criticize. If you have any questions PM me.**


	10. An Unknown Evil

"Are you serious?!" Zelda asked in shock. Lucina, Luigi, and Fox had reported back the UR central to speak with the others, informing them of the Reaper attack.

"Dead serious. And there are about 25 chopped up corpses to back it up." Luigi said.

"Dammit! So what exactly do we do from here?" Link questioned.

"I think it's fairly obvious what we do!" Daisy stepped in. "They broke the agreement that Snake had created. We keep our problems out of Skyworld, and they do the same. Now one of their creatures has attacked our world. There must be consequences!"

"I agree Daisy, but we must take into account that Palutena more than likely wasn't behind this attack. I remember Reapers being their enemies. Something else could be going on with the evil forces of Skyworld." Zelda pondered.

"Let's let Snake make the decision on this. He was the one who established the agreement." Fox suggested.

"I'll contact him right away." Lucina said.

* * *

As Snake and his team continued their journey, their radios started beeping to notify them of a call. They all answered.

" _This is Lucina. Do you read me?"_

Snake motioned for everyone to listen to their radios.

"This is Snake. We read you loud and clear Lucina. What's up?"

" _I'm afraid we've got a new problem on our hands…"_

Lucina went on to explain the events of the Reaper attack. The four of them looked none too happy.

"We've kept our side of the deal, but that xenophobic bitch didn't!" Ike growled.

"We're not just going to let this slide are we?!" Bayonetta asked.

"Of course we're not. We're going to have a chat with Ms. Palutena. She has to know that whether she likes it or not, this is her fight too." Snake declared.

Snake and his team traveled back to Palutena's Temple, where he and Bayonetta met. Once they marched in, Pit and Dark Pit swooped down and landed in front of them with their weapons at the ready.

"Calm down kids. We're not here to hurt your goddess." Snake assured the two angels. "Besides, you remember what happened last time you went up against Bayo and I right? We had you down in two minutes. Now there's four of us. You want to test your chances?" He challenged.

Pit was quick to put his weapons away. Even Dark Pit, who relished a challenge in combat, knew it was best to back down, and did the same as Pit. Palutena warped in shortly afterwards.

"You again? What do you want?" She asked.

"Palutena do you remember our agreement about us keeping our problems to ourselves?"

"Of course I do. Is there a problem?"

"As a matter of fact there is. Can you explain to us why 25 people got slaughtered the other day by Reapers?"

"What?!" Palutena's expression changed to one full of shock.

"Did I stutter?" Snake sneered.

"Reapers?! Are you sure about that?!" Palutena questioned.

"We've got two Reaper corpses and what's left of twenty-five people if you need proof." Ike said.

"Dammit! It's Hades!" Palutena muttered.

"Hades? The God of the Underworld in Greek Mythology?" Snake asked.

"Maybe he is a myth from where you come from but here he is very real. And he's Skyworld's biggest enemy." Palutena explained.

"Well now he's our enemy as well so we're going to have to take care of him." Said Bayonetta.

"That's not necessary!" the goddess exclaimed.

"Not necessary?! This piece of shit sent two of his cronies to kill our people, and you're saying we should just look the other way?!" Ike roared.

"NO! I…"

"ENOUGH!" Snake fiercely commanded for everyone to be quiet. He turned to Palutena, his calm demeanor back in place. "Alright lady I'll make you a deal. My team is just eager to storm into your world and take matters into their own hands. But I understand that you want to keep your world a human-free zone. So I'll give you three days for you to send your own forces to find Hades and get him to talk. Find out why he sent his forces here. And if you do, you will relay that information to my friends." He explained and handed her a radio. "Deal?"

Palutena nodded her head. "Okay. Deal."

"Remember. Three days." He turned and made his exit from the temple. "Let's go team."

"You sure about this Snake?" Peach questioned.

"I'd rather try my best to stay out of other worldly affairs. But if they don't get results after 72 hours, we're going to march in there and find out for ourselves."

"Alright. Well we have one more warehouse to search. It's to the East." Peach said as she looked at her map.

"Then that's where we're heading." Ike affirmed.

"Yes but it's getting rather late. I think we should find a spot to rest and head there tomorrow." Bayonetta advised.

"Agreed. We've done a lot today. It's best we get some rest." Snake decided.

* * *

Zelda, Link and a group of their troops had been traveling from settlement to settlement, warning the security detail to be on alert of possible attacks in wake of the Reaper incident. They finally headed back to Hyrule in the middle of the night. Link became rather cautious traveling in the dark.

"I don't like this…everyone be on alert." Link ordered his men.

"Did you see something Link?" Zelda worried.

"No but…"

He was cut off as one of his soldiers screamed before he was killed by a Mii swordsman. The others quickly killed the Mii.

"SHIT! We're under attack!"

They found themselves surrounded by mindless Miis.

"This must be what Snake was talking about!" Zelda thought as she looked around. She attacked with her various magic's while Link and his men battled close range. The battle was short but only cause the fatalities were quick. Link's men and the Mii's were on par with each other in combat skill. When a Mii killed one of the soldiers, another one would come in and finish that one off, and another Mii did the same. After all the Miis were killed, Link and Zelda were the only ones remaining.

"Is it over?" Zelda asked as they looked around.

"I don't know." Link said with his shield raised, looking for any threats in hiding.

Stepping out of the shadows, a man ran up and punched Link in the back of the head, knocking him out.

"LINK!" Zelda shrieked and pulled out a dagger to engage the assailant. She sliced at him but he slapped the dagger out of her hand and grabbed her by the throat. He lifted her off the ground by her neck and let out an evil chuckle. The moon lit up his face and Zelda got to see who it was.

"Captain Falcon?"

"You idiots so easily forget me! No I'm not Falcon, he's dead and you know that. I am Blood Falcon, and I'll make sure the world knows it!" Blood Falcon declared.

From behind, a man punched B. Falcon right at the kidney causing him to drop Zelda. Then he wrapped both arms around Falcon's waist and performed a back drop suplex. Blood Falcon was slammed to ground with great force. He was completely disoriented.

"You all right?" He asked Zelda.

"Who are you?"

"Alex." The young wrestler identified himself. He turned and saw Blood Falcon getting back to his feet. "Let me handle this. I'll fight him and you focus on getting your friend there back up." Alex planned.

Though Zelda didn't know anything about Alex, she saw no other choice but to cooperate with him. She ran over to Link's side and saw blood dripping from the back of his head. She dug through his bag for any medical supplies, but he had a lot in there so it could take a while.

"Blood Falcon. I've been looking for you." Alex said.

"What? You want an autograph?" Blood Falcon joked.

"I know you've been takin' people out while playing hitman. Who's been hiring you?"

"Oh! Been playing detective have we? I'm impressed. But you should know I'm not gonna tell you shit!"

"Of course you won't. Guess things are gonna go the hard way."

Blood Falcon dashed at Alex with speed akin to Captain Falcon and shoulder bashed Alex's midsection. It pushed him back, but wasn't anywhere enough to knock the big man down. Alex blocked Blood Falcon's incoming volley of punches. Blood Falcon continued attacking, trying to break through Alex's guard. Alex did a reversal, kicking Blood Falcon in the gut to push him back and followed up with a massive haymaker. Alex's knuckles cracked into Blood Falcon's temple and had him reeling. Alex hit him with a lariat and knocked him on his back. He rolled out of the way of an elbow drop that followed.

He hit Alex in the head with a swift roundhouse kick and stunned him. Ducking under a right hook, he jumped up and dropped kicked Alex square in the chest, finally knocking the big man down. Blood Falcon pulled out a knife and went to stab Alex in the heart, but the wrestler slapped the blade out of his hand. He did a leg sweep and knocked Blood Falcon onto the ground. They both rose to their feet, with Alex being the first to strike. He jumped to Blood Falcon and landed in front of him. He grabbed his head with his hand and headbutted him before lifting him up and slamming him on his back with a powerbomb.

Back with Zelda, she continued to search through Link's bag until she finally found a red fairy bottle. She opened it up and used it on Link. The fairy worked its healing magic, and Link finally regained consciousness.

"Link!" Zelda sighed with relief.

"Zelda? What's going on?"

"We got attacked by Blood Falcon. He knocked you out and would've killed me if he hadn't showed up." She explained and pointed to Alex.

Things were not looking good for Blood Falcon and he knew it. When it came to close quarters combat this wrestler outmatched him. He would have to resort to other means. Rolling back up he pulled out his blaster and shot Alex's right leg. Alex fell to a knee and roared in pain from the shot.

"GAH! You damn coward!" Alex cursed. Blood Falcon simply chuckled and pointed the blaster to Alex's head for the kill shot. But before his finger touched the trigger, an arrow went right through his hand and his gun fell to the ground.

"FUCK!" Blood Falcon shouted in pain. He turned to where the arrow came from and saw Link lower his bow, satisfied with his perfect shot. Alex took this as an opportunity to make a move. He dashed behind Blood Falcon and wrapped him into a full-nelson. He kept his grip tight as Blood Falcon struggled to break out of the hold.

"HEY! Get over here and deal the final blow!" Alex called to Link and Zelda. Link picked up his sword and dashed at Blood Falcon, who could do nothing as he was exposed to a fatal attack. Once Link got close, Alex pushed Blood Falcon to him and the Hero of Time impaled the clone of Captain Falcon.

Time slowed down for Blood Falcon, his mind in a state of panic as he looked down to see the Master Sword rammed right through him. Zelda pulled out her bow and finished Blood Falcon with a perfect headshot. After the arrow went in, Link put his foot on Blood Falcon's midsection and kicked him off his sword. The corpse sprawled onto the ground. Blood Falcon was no more.

"Now that was one hell of a finisher!" Alex gave a thumbs up and stepped forward. He fell back to a knee, still feeling the effects of the blaster shot. Link and Zelda quickly came to his aid.

"Your hurt! Just sit still." Zelda said.

"It's no big deal. Didn't hit anything vital." Alex assured.

"Well we'll have it patched up in no time." Link said and began attending to the wound.

"Alex was it? You saved our lives back there. We can't thank you enough." Zelda expressed her gratitude.

"Eh, don't worry about it. You two could've taken that joker yourselves. He was a coward. The only reason he got the upper hand on you two is cause he waited for those Miis to soften you up."

"Can't argue with that. That bastard came from behind and sucker punched me." Link growled.

"Aren't you two part of the UR?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Link responded.

"I think I've got some info that you and your team might want to know about."

Link and Zelda exchanged looks, both looking very curious. They looked back to Alex.

"Alright. We're listening."

"It wasn't a coincidence that I was here to stop Blood Falcon. I've been tailing him." Alex revealed. "The dude was a hitman. He'd been taking some low-profile targets, he'd kill them and then cut their ear off as a token of proof. Looks like this was his first big-time contract, and you two were the targets."

"Well it's a good thing we stopped him." Zelda said.

"Yeah but that begs the question. Who hired him?" Link pointed out.

"Exactly!" Alex agreed. "We may have killed him, but who's to say that there aren't more hitmen out there? This can keep happening. Who's putting out these hits, and why? If they had two head figures of the UR on their list, they must be planning something don't you think?"

"Yeah you're right…" Link worried. He had finally completed treating Alex's wound. "There! You're good to go."

"Thanks."

"This might be the evil force that Snake's been worried about." Zelda guessed. "But we don't even have a name."

"Well I'm hoping that we can find that out from him." Alex pointed to Blood Falcon's corpse. "He could have a contract on him."

Alex began searching through Blood Falcon's pockets and found a sheet of paper. "I got it!"

"What does it say?" Zelda asked.

"Blood Falcon. Your targets are Princess Zelda and Link, two representatives of the UR. Complete your task and you will be rewarded handsomely." Alex read. "Signed by…the Harbingers. Looks like we got a name."

"Harbingers? The Harbingers of what?" Link wondered.

"It doesn't say, but I got a feeling whatever it is we ain't gonna like it." Alex said.

"You're right." Zelda agreed. Suddenly Zelda took notice of something. The jacket that Alex was wearing. "Hey Alex."

"What's up?"

"That jacket…are you the vigilante we've been hearing about? Bomber?"

Alex chuckled. "Yeah that's what some people call me."

"Well Bomber, on behalf of all the members of the UR I'd like to ask if you would like to fight alongside us against the forces that threaten the people of this world." Link offered.

"You want me to join you? For real?"

"Indeed. You saved me and the Princess, and for that we are in your debt. You seem to have the same goal as us. To protect people. We would love to have you in our ranks."

Alex smiled. It seemed that what Deacon was right about these people. "All right! I'm on board!" Alex accepted without hesitation.

"Excellent!" Zelda cheered. "Now we must hurry back."

But before they took off, Link and Zelda took a moment to mourn the loss of their fallen soldiers. Alex took notice of this.

"Hey…I'm sorry about your troops there."

"Thank you. However, they knew the risks before they signed up, yet they joined regardless. The fought bravely to protect the people, and they went out fighting for that cause. I can't imagine they'd want to go out any other way." Link said. "Anyway, we must make our way back."

"Gotcha. Lead the way."

* * *

Finding a spot to rest, Snake and his team got a fire started and relaxed for the night. But before they started resting, their radios started going off.

"Looks like we're getting a call. Radios on everybody." Snake ordered. "This is Snake."

" _Hey Snake, it's Link."_

"Hey Link. Sorry we forgot to report in, but we had a talk with Palutena."

" _How did it go?"_

"She's been informed about what's going on. She tells us that Hades must be responsible for sending those things to our world."

" _That would make sense. What doesn't make sense is why he's sending them here. He's in conflict with Palutena and her forces, not us."_

"Maybe he just wants to be an asshole." Bayonetta thought.

"That's possible, but I doubt that." Ike said.

" _Anyway, what's the plan?"_

"We made a deal with her. We're giving her 72 hours to go find Hades herself and find out what's going on. Otherwise, we're taking a trip to Skyworld."

" _I see…well now for the reason I called you."_ Link said. " _Looks like you weren't crazy with your talk about an upcoming threat"_

"What are you talking about."

" _While Zelda and I were traveling we got attacked. At first it wasn't anything special, a group of feral Miis. All of our troops died, but we took them out. And then we got attacked by someone else. Blood Falcon."_

"Blood Falcon?" Peach asked unfamiliar with the name.

"I remember him. Captain Falcon told me a while back that was a clone of him made using DNA taken from him while he was hospitalized after a major accident. His purpose was to kill the real Falcon, but that's out of the question because Falcon's dead." Snake explained.

" _Well it looks like he decided to do some wet work. He came to kill me and Zelda. We would have died if it wasn't for Alex."_

"Alex? Who's that?"

" _Oh sorry! He's the vigilante we heard about called Bomber. He showed up just in time and gave Blood Falcon a serious beat down and helped Zelda and I kill him. Turns out he had been tailing Blood Falcon for a while. He's been doing this hitman business for some time, and we were his first big name targets."_

"Did he help you find out who hired him?"

" _Sure did. We looked at his contract for the job and it had a signature…the Harbingers."_

"That sounds like an evil group if I've ever heard one." Ike joked. "Looks like we can't joke about you wearing a tin foil hat now, Snake."

"Yeah well…I really didn't want to be right about this." Snake said. "So what about Alex? Did he leave?"

" _Nope. He's actually the newest member of the UR. If that's okay with you that is."_

"Of course. The more help the better." Snake replied. "So change of plans. We're going to head back to base tomorrow. Crazy Hand can wait; this is an immediate threat that requires our attention."

"Sounds good to me. Traveling through this Wasteland and resting at campfires gets tiresome after a while." Bayonetta giggled.

" _All right, sounds like a plan. See you later, and be safe."_ Link said and ended the call.


	11. A Change of Plans

Snake and his team returned with no resistance along the way. Wolf, Luigi and soldiers of the Nomad squad were standing at the entrance, serving as guards as well as the welcoming committee. The soldiers saluted as their commander returned. Snake chuckled, humbled by their show of respect.

"At ease soldiers." He said allowing them to relax. During their training, he never told them they were required to salute when he was present. Yet they chose to regardless.

"Welcome back sir!" The soldiers said.

"Yes, welcome home." Wolf chuckled. "Looks like you're all in one piece. No broken bones? No missing limbs?" He joked.

"We're good." Ike said.

"But that's sweet of you to ask Wolf. I didn't know you cared!" Bayonetta teased.

"It's good to see you're all okay." Luigi said.

"Likewise." Peach replied.

"Is everyone inside?" Snake asked Luigi.

"Yes. Follow me."

Entering the headquarters, Snake let his friends take a breather while he went to see Link. They made their greetings before moving to business.

"I'd like to meet our new recruit." Snake requested.

"Of course. His room is over there." Link pointed to a door across the room. "He should be in there."

Snake lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in." He heard Alex say from inside. Snake opened the door and walked in to see Alex finish is stretches. Alex turned to face him and was taken back with surprise.

"Woah! You're…you're Snake right? The Nomad?"

"Yeah that's me. I'd prefer you just call me Snake. You must be Alex; The Bomber."

"Yeah! It's an honor to meet you sir." Alex extended his arm out for a handshake.

"You don't need to call me sir. I'm not your CO. The UR doesn't have a chain of command. We're all equals here." Snake reminded.

"Right! Sorry about that."

"It's no problem. It's good to meet you Alex." Snake shook his hand. "I heard about what you've been doing for people out there, and about what you did for Link and Zelda the other day. I want to thank you for that."

"It's what I do. Somebody's gotta stop the bad guys y'know."

"Of course. That's part of what we do." Snake agreed. "So we're going to be having a meeting in a couple of hours. I understand that you know about this group…the "Harbingers"; right?"

"Well I don't have much, but I know a few things."

"That's better than knowing nothing. Be ready to present what you've got during the meeting."

"Gotcha."

* * *

 _In an unknown location, a man walked into his boss' office nervously. Having to inform him of some rather bad news._

" _Excuse me sir?"_

" _What is it?" the boss said, his voice deep and intimidating._

" _I came to report that Blood Falcon was killed and failed his mission. Both targets survived."_

" _Really? Hmm…what a shame." He replied, no trace of emotion in his voice._

" _You don't seem too upset about it."_

" _Of course I'm not. Why would I be? Blood Falcon was not a valuable asset, he was expendable. He was a brash fool, another one of Black Shadow's failed experiments. He was so obsessed with trying to make a name for himself and outshine his progenitor, that he couldn't take the time to become his own person." The boss explained. "A man uncertain of his own identity is a man waiting to be killed."_

" _I see. So I take it this doesn't hinder your plans?"_

" _It's just a small bumb in the road. If anything it tells me that now is not the time to be worrying about eliminating Snake and his group. Their forces are too strong right now for that."_

" _Alright. Then what's the plan sir?"_

" _We are in this for the long run, remember? We'll bolster our forces while weakening theirs. Only then will we get the opportune moment to strike. Thanks to a friend of mine, the Reaper assault was a success. We fight one small attack at a time, and make sure to cover our tracks. When we're ready, we'll finally step out of the shadows and make our move." The boss chuckled._

" _Understood."_

" _By the way…how is the search for those emeralds going?"_

" _We only have one, the others are not so easy to find."_

" _I see. Well keep looking."_

* * *

The members of the UR had begun their meeting. Link and Zelda explained what happened, and Alex further clarified what he knew about this mysterious group, the Harbingers.

"So they've killed other people before? Strange that we haven't heard a thing about this." Krystal thought.

"This group seems to be very clandestine when it comes to how they operate. They've been working in the shadows. This is the first time they've really stuck their neck out." Snake guessed.

"Even still, they've done a good job at covering their tracks. They certainly didn't divulge any information to Blood Falcon. All we have to go off of is a name." Link said in disappointment.

"So that begs the question. How do we go after this group if we have no idea where to start?" Zelda asked.

The group were silent for a good while, trying to think of something they could do. Finally Snake spoke up.

"We don't."

The others were confused by the statement.

"What?!" Bayonetta asked in shock.

"Snake we can't just give up…" Peach began.

"I never said that! You didn't let me finish." Snake stopped her. The others withdrew their protests and allowed Snake to elaborate. "We can't go looking for them as of right now, we'd be wasting our time. But they won't stay in the shadows forever. They're going to have to step out to strike at some point. We just need to be ready for when they do."

"So we wait for them to attack us? That's crazy?" Ike replied.

"Actually it's not as crazy as you'd might think." Robin stepped in. If there was anyone in the group who knew about tactics, it was her. "It may be a risky plan, but it's not crazy."

"Please explain." Lucina requested.

"What Snake is proposing is that we feign vulnerability in anticipation of an enemy attack. If they aren't aware that we're prepared for an attack, we can stop them once they attack and hopefully capture the attackers for information. If successful, we can get a lead on where to find them."

"That's the plan." Snake confirmed. "Now it's not the perfect plan. It has flaws and there are a lot of unexpected events can occur. I understand this, but with the little information we have, our options are limited."

The others went silent, thinking about the plan for a bit. They came to an agreement.

"Alright. I'll tell security in all the settlements to be on high alert." Zelda said.

"At least one or two of us should be stationed at each settlement to help the security forces. We never know how powerful the attacker could be." Luigi suggested.

"That's good thinking." Fox agreed.

"Hey wait a second! I just thought of something else we can do!" Alex blurted out.

"Really? What's that?" Snake asked.

"We can ask Deacon."

"Deacon?"

"Yeah! He's a Darknut that lives on a mountain in the North."

"A Darknut?!" Link exclaimed.

"No! Don't worry! He's not like the others. He's a good guy." Alex explained to assure Link.

"Well what exactly can this guy do for us?" Snake questioned.

"He's a smart guy, and I think he knows a lot more than he lets on. He knows quite a lot about you guys and he never seems to leave the mountain. He's the one that suggested that I join you guys."

"You think he might have some information on the Harbingers?"

"I strongly believe he does. But there's a bit of a catch. If you want him to answer your questions, you have to beat him in a fight." Alex said.

"I take it nobody's ever done that." Snake guessed.

"He's really damn strong, I can tell you that."

"You fought him?"

"I did. But it wasn't for the challenge to earn answers. I heard a lot about him from some locals and wanted to spar with him to see for myself. He didn't disappoint." Alex admitted. "But I think if anyone can beat him, it's you Snake."

"Well what do you think Snake? You willing to test your might?" Wolf chuckled.

"If he's right about this and Deacon knows something, it's worth a shot." Bayonetta advised.

"Okay. I'll do it. Alex, Peach, Bayo; I want you three coming with me."

"You sure you don't want me to come along?" Ike asked.

"I need you to stay behind. If Palutena doesn't get us answers in time, I want you leading the charge into Skyworld."

"You got it." Ike said and gave him a thumbs up.

"Well before we leave there's one more question. What about the Crazy Hand situation?" Bayonetta asked.

"We're going to have to put that mission on hold. As much as I'd like to know more about what happened with him, protecting people is our first priority, no exceptions." Snake answered.

"Okay, that's everything. Good luck everyone." Zelda said.

* * *

Alex was shown to his living quarters in the U.R. base. He exercised on the floor, doing push-ups and pull ups. Someone stepped in to his door way and said;

"I see you've been keeping up with your training as well."

Alex got up to look at who spoke, and was shocked by who he saw.

"Ryu!"

"It's good to see you again Alex." The martial artist smiled.

"Same to you! Damn, I thought I'd never see you again! Where have you been?"

"You know me. Just traveling and honing my skills."

"I'll bet." Alex chuckled.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other. Why don't we catch up with some sparring" Ryu offered.

"I've always wanted a rematch. Let's do it." Alex agreed and the two headed outside. They went to an empty field, a perfect spot for a 1-on-1 match. Alex had been waiting for a rematch with Ryu. The first time they fought was after the tournament where Alex defeated Gill. He heard a lot of talk about Ryu and how he was regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the world. Alex sought to face him to see for himself.

Ryu lived up to his reputation and then some. It was a one-sided fight. Alex could barely land a hit on Ryu and was unable to counter any of his blows. Ryu beat him decisively, but did not boast about his victory. He saw potential in the young wrestler, and told him to continue training and fight him again when he was ready. It was time to see if Alex's training paid off.

At the very start of the fight, Ryu noticed Alex's improvement. He threw a jab that Alex side-stepped to avoid, then countering with a jab of his own. Alex went for a Flash Chop, Ryu back stepped to dodge it. But Alex chased him down and hit him with a Slash Elbow.

"Very good!" Ryu complimented.

Ryu launched a Hadoken at Alex. Alex leaped over it only to learn that it was a bait and was struck by a fierce kick. Ryu struck him with a hard punch to the solar plexus and followed it with a Shoryuken.

Alex was knocked down but not out, and quickly got back to his feet. It was far from over, he had a lot more fight in him. The two combatants charged at each other to continue the battle.

The battle lasted 30 minutes, ending in a draw. The two warriors were evenly matched now, and fought to a standstill. They got some water and sat down for some relief.

"Good fight." Alex said.

"Absolutely. I'm amazed by how far you've come since the last time we fought. You're like a completely different fighter."

"I kept training, that's all. Hell, surviving the wasteland is training in of itself."

The two went silent for a bit until Ryu spoke up.

"The others have told me you've come across information about a nefarious organization."

"That's right."

"So it is true…"

"What are you talking about Ryu?"

"As part of my training I meditate daily. During my meditations I could sense a very wicked energy."

"You can sense energy?"

"To an extent. While my aura reading ability is nothing compared to Lucario's, I could tell that this is a very evil and powerful force." Ryu said. "Be very careful Alex. The road ahead of you is dangerous. As I understand it, you're going to travel with a group. Stick with them and you should be fine. You can trust them…you can trust all of us."

"Don't worry, I will. Thanks Ryu."

"No problem. You should probably go get some rest. You're going to need it for what's ahead of you."

* * *

Snake, Peach and Bayonetta relaxed in the lounge area of the Headquarters. Snake sat in chair eating some food, Bayonetta relaxed on a chair, and Peach was making some tea. She had just finished and took the tea pot out.

"Anybody want some?" She asked.

"Tea? Yes, I'd love some!" Bayonetta said in delight.

"No thanks." Snake replied.

"What? You don't like tea?" Bayonetta asked.

"It's not that I don't like it, I just never really drink it is all."

"Oh come now! Don't knock it till you try it!" She teasingly scolded him.

"You sure you don't want any?" Peach asked.

"Give it a chance Snake. There's no time like the present!" Bayo goaded him further. He finally gave in.

"Alright, if you insist that much, I'll have a cup."

"Here you go." Peach smiled and served the two a cup and sat down with a cup for herself. She and Bayo watched Snake as he held the cup.

"Well go on! Take a sip!" Bayo insisted.

Snake took a drink from the cup. His eyes suddenly widened after tasting it. Peach was nervous, unsure if that was a good or bad thing.

"So…what did you think?" She asked.

"This is actually pretty damn good!" Snake admitted.

"I knew you'd like it!" Bayo laughed.

"Now I can see how you were able to stop Zelda and Fox from trying to kill each other with just this tea." Snake added.

"I'm sorry…what?!" Bayo asked.

"It's a long story." Peach assured her. Bayo decided to take her word for it.

"By the way, I talked with Fox earlier and he told me that sometime during your fight against the Committee they found a vehicle with a self-sustaining power source." Bayo said.

"Yeah. What about it?" Snake asked.

"Why don't you people ever use it? Seems like it would be incredibly useful."

"We don't use it because we have yet to understand how it works. A car that never runs out of fuel. We didn't have that before the Catastrophe. People would go nuts if they found out we had something like that. So we're keeping it under wraps until Rosalina and the rest of the R&D team can find out how it works."

"It'd be so much easier if we had the creator with us." Peach sighed.

"Who was the creator?" Bayo asked.

"We don't know, and we don't even know if they're still alive. Fox and Krystal found the vehicle in some deserted workshop; but just the vehicle. No creator, no schematics, nothing." Snake recalled.

"Sounds spooky."

"I wouldn't be surprised if the creator was killed. They made a discovery of the ages, something that would put an end to the search for reliable fuel. This would have put the oil and gas industry out of business, and I'm sure they didn't take too kindly to this." Snake ranted. "Sorry. Didn't mean to go on a tinfoil tangent there." He said and the two ladies laughed.

"So what do you two think of the new kid?" Snake asked.

"You mean Alex?" Peach asked to confirm.

"I like him. He's a strapping young man, quite a looker indeed." Bayonetta giggled. "But in all seriousness I think he's a good man with good intentions. It's good to have him on our side."

"I feel the same. He looks like he just wants to help people." Peach added.

"Well, he's done good by us for what he did for Zelda and Link. And he doesn't seem to have any sinister vibes. I think it's safe to assume that he's on our side." Snake answered. "Still, don't let your guard down."

"Cautious as always." Peach laughed.

"You know me." Snake smirked. "Thanks for the tea. I'm going to go get some sleep."

"Me too. I'm getting tired, and we've got a lot of work ahead of us." Bayonetta agreed.

"I'm going to bed too. Good night." Peach said and hugged Bayonetta. Bayonetta looked over to Snake.

"Oh come on Snake! Get in here!" Bayo teased.

"Yeah come on! Group hug!" Peach laughed.

Snake chuckled. He couldn't help but enjoy their optimism. "Alright." He conceded and joined the two for a group hug.

"There we go!" Bayo cheered.

The three had a sense of comfort during the embrace. They felt like true companions, which were hard to find after the Catastrophe. It felt good; very good. They finally released each other and went to their sleeping quarters.

They needed their rest, for there's a lot ahead of them.


	12. An Unbreakable Will

When the morning came Snake, Alex, Peach and Bayonetta got their gear and left for their mission; Find Deacon. This was Alex's first mission with the UR, and he wanted to make a good impression. He figured the best way to do that was to keep it cool and just do what he usually does.

"You know this is kind of odd for me." Alex admitted to the others.

"Why's that?" Peach questioned.

"This is the first time I've actually traveled with a group. I've traveled by myself for the past few years, so I'm not used to it."

"I know how you feel kid. I traveled on my own for seven years. Didn't start having friends tag along until a few months ago. It's a different feeling for sure, but you'll get used to it." Snake said.

"Yeah. But I gotta say, it feels good to have people to help you out."

"We're a team Alex. We've got each other's back!" Peach smiled.

"That's right! So don't go Lone Wolf on us, okay?" Bayo teased.

"You got it!"

"So Alex. What can you tell me about Deacon? You said a little bit about him during the meeting, but nothing specific. What's he like?" Snake asked.

"Oh he's something special, that's for sure. He's a real gentle giant. He's kind, wise, and noble. You'd never expect someone who looks so intimidating to be that way."

"Not to mention he's a Darknut." Snake added.

"He's a Darknut in name only. He ain't a mindless killer like the others. He even traded in his sword for a blunt wooden one so he doesn't kill challengers that use swords. Those nice traits aside, he's no softie. He's a beast in combat. He could crush other Darknuts in seconds. He's not just a swordsman like other Darknuts, he's an all-around fighter. Hand-to-hand, grappling, he'll give you a hell of a fight, and he'll probably win." Alex explained. "I haven't seen it myself, but I'm sure he has a way of countering guns and magic users."

"That's impressive." Bayonetta said.

"You said last night at the meeting that you believed if anyone would could beat him, it was me." Snake remembered.

"That's right."

"Why do you think that? This guy sounds like an unstoppable force. What makes me a good contender against him? I'm not super-human."

"I…couldn't tell you why honestly. There's just something about you that makes me think you can." Alex admitted.

"So you call it a hunch?" Peach asked.

"Yeah you could say that."

"You sure you're not super-human, Snake?" Bayonetta smirked.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure. I can't fire energy out of my hands or use arcane powers."

"Alright if you say so. But I think you've got some hidden super power you're not telling us about." Bayonetta joked.

"Think what you want. Let's keep moving." Snake ordered.

* * *

It took over a day's worth of traveling before they made it to Deacon's mountain. They trekked up the mountain and once they reached the top, finally saw the secluded warrior. He was standing tall, looking down the mountain as he meditated. Without turning around, he acknowledged their presence.

"Alex, it's good to see you again. And I see that you've brought friends this time."

"Good to see you too Deacon." Alex replied.

"I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm…" Peach began.

"No need for that. I already know who you are, and I'm sure you've been told about me." Deacon said.

"Just how much do you know about us?" Bayonetta asked out of curiosity.

"Don't worry Bayonetta. Mostly just your names. I don't know your deepest secrets, or what you like to do on your personal time." He chuckled. "However I do know quite a bit about you, sir." He turned and pointed to Snake.

"Really? I'm not surprised. Everyone's seemed to have heard about me."

"I've heard many tales of great warriors in the wasteland. Some are outright false; many are partially true but exaggerated. But everything I've heard about you is true. You do live up to your legend."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Snake said. He then decided to get to the point. "I'm sure you know why we're here."

"Yes, I'm aware. You want answers."

"So, what are the rules?"

"Only one of you can fight me. Other than that it's a fight until one of us submits or is unable to continue fighting. You are allowed to use whatever weapons you wish." Deacon explained.

"I see. Alright then." Snake took the time to strip himself of his firearms. Though he was allowed to use them, he didn't feel they'd be appropriate in a sanctioned duel. He handed them to Alex. "Hold these for me."

"A man of guts and honor. I respect that." Deacon nodded. "Ready when you are."

Snake looked back to his teammates. They were nervous to see how this would turn out.

"Good luck Snake." Bayonetta said to him.

"Be careful. I know this isn't a death match, but we don't want you getting too injured." Peach advised.

"I'll do my best." Snake chuckled. "Still think I can do this, kid?" He asked Alex.

"I do."

"Alright. Let's see if you're hunch was right."

He turned and walked over to Deacon. The two were face to face, Deacon towering almost two feet taller than him. They both got into their fighting stance.

"I'm ready." Snake confirmed.

"Then we will begin." Deacon said and extended his hand out in a show of sportsmanship. Snake shook his hand and readied for battle.

"START!" Deacon shouted, signaling the beginning of the battle.

The Darknut threw the first strike, a left cross. Snake ducked under it and hit Deacon with two jabs to the midsection. Snake expected his hand to sting in pain after hitting the knight, but it turned out his armor was not metal, but leather. He threw a few more punches, each one blocked by Deacon. Deacon grabbed Snake and readied him for a throw, but Snake broke out of it just in time. Snake kicked at Deacon's chest, but the Darknut caught his foot and decked him with a hard punch. Snake was sent reeling back, and Deacon charged at him for another attack. Snake quickly utilized a CQC throw that put Deacon on the ground by using his own momentum against him.

"Very impressive." Deacon complimented.

Deacon got a wake-up attack on Snake, sweeping his leg with a hard kick. Deacon rolled away to safely return to his feet. Snake got up, only to get knocked back to the floor with a vicious shoulder tackle. He quickly rolled away from Deacon's attempted ground punch. Yet Deacon would not give Snake any breathing room, chasing him down with an aggressive offense. Snake got kicked in the gut and hit across the jaw with a right hook. Deacon attempted to head-butt Snake, but Snake countered with an uppercut to the chin. The punch dazed Deacon, and Snake put him in an arm bar submission hold. He continued putting pressure to weaken Deacon's right arm. Through sheer force, Deacon swung his arm to get Snake off, and then grabbed him and body slammed Snake.

Snake let out a shout of pain upon being slammed to the ground. Deacon lifted Snake back to his feet, only to deck him with a fierce right cross that put him back on the ground. Snake spat out a bit of blood. Deacon went to pick Snake up again, but Snake kicked his feet up and hit Deacon right on the cheek. Quickly getting up, Snake used a great amount of strength to CQC slam Deacon. Once the Darknut was grounded, Snake punched his face for extra damage. He went for another hit, but Deacon shoved him away. Deacon got back up and parried Snake's punch, and retaliated with an immensely powerful gut-punch, a move that was the decisive blow for many of his challenges.

Snake's eyes widened as he was struck in the gut, feeling the wind getting knocked out of him. Deacon stepped back after the punch, as if he was expecting it to be the final blow. His friends felt that was the case as well. But as much as his body begged him, he refused to collapse. Deacon looked perplexed, surprised that Snake hadn't fallen down yet. Then Snake caught him off guard with a dashing drop kick to the chest, knocking Deacon down.

"Incredible!" Deacon said as he got back up.

"What?" Snake asked.

"No one has ever kept fighting after that attack. And yet you still continue. What is it that drives you?"

"I've got my reasons."

The two went back to exchanging blows, neither one seeming to be able to get the upper hand on the other. Yet even in the middle of battle, Deacon continued to converse with Snake.

"When I look at you, I see a man that should be dead…yet survived because he said "No" to death." Deacon explained.

"Heh. If only it was that easy. Really I'd just chalk it up to luck." Snake replied.

Snake ducked under a few of Deacon's punches, and hit him with a reversal punch.

"I don't believe in concepts such as luck, and I know you don't either." Deacon said. "Luck doesn't explain how you, a human with no special powers, consistently overcomes odds stacked against him."

Deacon blocked Snake's kicks and countered with a punch.

"I never gave it much thought. I just did what I had to."

They kept fighting, with Snake continuing to give it his all.

"You've got a special gift; you know?"

"What's that?" Snake asked.

"An unbreakable will."

"What?"

"Your perseverance, it borders on inhuman. It might as well be your super power. You've been able to do what you've done because you refused to give up until you got the job done."

"I'm just a persistent bastard, that's all." Snake replied.

"Persistent is an understatement." Deacon chuckled. "I have a feeling that no matter how much I hurt you, you will refuse to submit."

Deacon struck Snake in the stomach and pushed him back.

"Yep."

"Then it seems the only way for me to win is to knock you out."

"Guess so." Snake replied.

The two had finalized their battle strategy.

For Deacon, getting Snake to tap out was out of the question. He could break both of Snake arms during the fight and the man would keep fighting. The only choice left to him to win the fight without killing Snake was to simply knock him unconscious, something easier said than done when it came to Snake.

For Snake, he looked at Deacon and knew that knocking Deacon out was not the viable way to win. Sure it's a possibility, but it would take forever. Deacon was bigger and stronger than him, not to mention he didn't have old age hampering his abilities. Trading blows was off the table, because if he did Deacon was going to be the one to win. However, if he couldn't beat Deacon with strikes, he could beat him with something else. Up to this point he hadn't been using CQC to its full extent. Striking was not what it was about. CQC gives Snake a multitude of throws and submission holds that were designed to work on the largest of opponents. If he could get Deacon into a good submission hold, he could get the Darknut to submit.

"Ready to continue?" Deacon asked.

"I'm ready." Snake confirmed.

The two went into their fighting stance and cautiously approached each other. Snake waited for Deacon to throw the first strike, but Deacon seemed to be doing the same. Realizing this, Snake threw a feint, causing Deacon to react with a counter kick. Snake caught his leg and performed a reversal, elbowing Deacon's knee and then pushing his leg away. Deacon began a combination of punches; Snake put his guard up and blocked them to the best of his ability. Eventually it got overwhelming and Snake's guard was broken, allowing Deacon to land a solid right cross to Snake's forehead. Snake was reeling back, and noticed there was now blood coming from that part of his head. But that didn't matter to him.

Snake's friends continued watching the fight, each very concerned about him. Especially after that last hit.

"C'mon Snake!" Alex said and tightened his fists. No matter how bad things were looking, the young wrestler still had faith that Snake could win this.

"He shouldn't be so hard-headed. If he gets injured, he needs to stop!" Bayonetta said.

"It's not going to happen." Peach replied. "I know Snake; he's not going to throw in the towel. He never does. I don't even think he knows how to quit."

Snake caught a punch from Deacon's left arm and reversed it into another arm-bar. This time he wasn't going to let Deacon shove him off. As soon as he felt Deacon about to break the hold, he let go and hit his arm with a powerful strike. The damage done to Deacon's arm was actually noticeable. He wasn't able to attack with as much power and finesse as he did before.

Deacon then did a feint attack with his right arm, tricking Snake into trying to catch it. He punished the mistake with a powerful kick to midsection. The hit stunned Snake long enough for Deacon to shove his boot right into Snake's face, instantly grounding him. Snake could feel himself losing consciousness, but he refused to let his body shut down. Slowly using all fours to pick himself back up, he surprised Deacon with a tackle, pinning the Darknut to the ground. Snake pressed his forearm against Deacon's throat, depriving him of oxygen. He was on Deacon for a good five seconds, but he could tell Deacon was about to break out of the chokehold. So Snake struck his elbow against Deacon's head and jumped off of him.

The battle had been going on for quite some time, 30 minutes in fact. Both Snake and Deacon could tell, their stamina had been drained significantly. But Snake knew that his body was more likely to give out first. He needed to end this now. He came up with a plan, though it was an incredibly risky one that could possibly result in him losing.

As Snake blocked Deacon's attacks, he purposely dropped his guard, acting as though he had lost all stamina. Deacon saw this as an opening, and hit Snake with his gut punch once again.

"SNAKE!" His friends all cried out, fearing the worst.

Just like the first time, Snake did not fall down. However, Deacon was not expecting him to.

"This time I'll finish the job." Deacon said and winded up for a haymaker.

" _Perfect!"_ Snake thought. With a newfound burst of stamina, he rolled under Deacon's wild punch, positioning himself right behind Deacon. He jumped on Deacon's back and wrapped his arms around his head and throat to place him in a sleeper hold.

Deacon was shocked to have been outplayed like that. Now he found himself in a chokehold. He thrashed about in a desperate attempt to knock Snake off of him. Yet Snake stuck to him, wrapping his arms around the Darknut tighter by the second. A full minute went by, and Deacon was still trapped in the hold. The effects of oxygen deprivation started to kick in. His balance started to falter. He fell to one knee…then both knees…then on all fours. Finding himself close to passing out, Deacon yielded and tapped out, Snake releasing him from the hold immediately afterwards.

"He did it!" Peach cheered.

The two fighters laid on the ground exhausted, both of them gasping for air.

"That…was a good…match." Snake said between breaths.

"I've never seen someone fight the way you do." Deacon said.

"You mean CQC?" Snake asked.

"No. Just the way you approach battle. Not only do you use your fists, you use your mind as well; which can be just as dangerous." Deacon explained. "You show resilience, resolve, and no fear. This fight was a great honor."

"Yeah. I think I learned a few things from this." Snake agreed.

"I suppose you'd like to ask me some questions now." Deacon said.

"We'll do that in a bit. I think we should rest up, get these wounds taken care of first.


	13. From the Shadows

The three watched as Snake and Deacon laid sprawled on the ground after their long and grueling battle.

"Oh god! I hope they're alright!" Peach said.

"Let's check on them!" Alex suggested.

"Right. Peach and I will check on Snake, you check on Deacon." Bayonetta said to Alex.

"Got it."

The three rushed to the fighter's sides. Peach and Bayonetta went to Snake's aid. Bayonetta held Snake's upper body up to help him sit.

"Snake? Can you hear me? Snake…" Bayonetta called out to him, as he seemed unconscious.

"Hey." Snake opened his eye and said roughly. "Sorry if I scared you. Don't worry, I'm still kicking." He chuckled a bit before groaning in pain.

"You're alive but you're very hurt. We need to get you healed up!" Peach demanded.

Meanwhile Alex went over to Deacon's side. He lightly shook Deacon's shoulder.

"Deacon? You all right man?"

To his surprise, Deacon rose off his back and sat down with relative ease.

"I'm fine. I'm actually quite worried about him." Deacon said and looked over to Snake. "I hit him a lot, and I hit him very hard. In fact, his strategy involved allowing himself to get hit. I wonder if the trade-off was more than he bargained for."

"What do you mean about his strategy?" Alex asked.

"You didn't notice? Towards the end of the fight he dropped his guard and let himself get hit by my powerful blows to bait me into dropping my own guard."

"That sounds more like a gambit than a strategy."

"Perhaps you're right. But while it was risky and one could even argue that it was stupid, it was also very clever…and above all else, it worked."

"Don't worry about me. I'm all right." Snake claimed to the Peach and Bayo.

"Snake! Stop lying dammit! You've got broken ribs." Peach said. Snake looked surprised upon hearing this.

"I do?" He asked and tried to get up, only to feel a jolt of pain go through his body. "Shit! I do! I didn't notice that."

"Yes, this is a problem that needs to be dealt with fast." Deacon said and walked over to them. "You obviously have important matters to intend to after this, so you don't have any time for broken ribs to heal."

"That's true, but I'm sure Snake is going to be as stubborn as a bull and insist we keep going even with his broken rib." Bayonetta replied.

"I agree. That's why I'm not allowing you to walk off this mountain until that wound is healed. So here take this."

Deacon pulled out a jar with a red fairy caught inside. The other four looked in awe at the bottle as Deacon put it in Bayonetta's hands.

"The Hylian miracle medicine!" Peach smiled.

"I've heard stories about that...that it can heal even the largest of injuries in a matter of seconds. Is it true?" Alex asked.

"See for yourself." Bayonetta smirked and opened the bottle, allowing the fairy to circle around Snake. In mere moments, Snake stood up with his wounds healed and energy restored.

"Yep. It's the real deal. Thanks, Deacon." Snake said.

"Nevermind that. You came here for the right ask questions and get answers, and you earned that right. Let me hear what you have to say, Snake."

"All right, we'll start from the most important. Recently, Zelda and Link got attacked by Blood Falcon, who was acting as a hitman. From what we gathered we know that he was hired by a group with "The Harbingers" in their name. We don't think that's their full name. Do you know who they are?"

"You must be talking about The Harbingers of the Natural Order."

"So that's their full name?"

"Yes. Interesting name don't you think?"

"Well what's their goal?" Peach asked.

"They are the opposite of your group. They want everything that the UR doesn't want. An unfettered world with no rules. A wasteland where might makes right. They want to undermine everything that you and you friends have been working hard to make."

"So…a world full of conflict. Not the first time I've had to deal with those types of people." Snake said. "Can you tell me who's running the show?"

"Someone who wanted his name and legacy to be forgotten so that he could pull strings in the shadows at his leisure. He's called Deathborn."

"Deathborn?" Alex thought.

"Never heard the name before." Peach said.

"Me either." Bayo replied.

Snake however, was somewhat familiar with the name.

"I've heard of him before." Snake said.

"Really?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know much. I heard about him while I was being briefed on all the fighters before I came to the third Tournament. He was one of Falcon's enemies."

"That's correct." Deacon said. "Just because he's not well known like Ganondorf, that doesn't make him any less of a threat. Even Black Shadow, Falcon's arch nemesis, feared Deathborn."

"What do you know about him?" Snake asked.

"I know he isn't truly human. He's more of a monster in a man's body. I even say a "man's body" very loosely because he looks more mechanical than anything."

"What? Like a cyborg?"

"That's as good of a description for him as any. He's died three times you know? And each time he came back by exchanging his body parts for mechanical ones."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with someone that cheats death."

"Maybe so. But I assure you he will be the most dangerous case. He's very good at making people "disappear"; make sure that you or your friends aren't the next." Deacon warned.

"I'll try to be careful then." Snake replied. "Is he the one dispersing all those feral Miis across the wasteland?"

"Indeed he is. How he took control of them I do not know."

"Do you know where he's going to attack next?"

"I'm afraid not. He's making sure that's kept under wraps." Deacon said. "However, if you want my prediction, he'll probably attack one of the smaller settlements. Not any areas of importance."

"What? Why? That doesn't make any sense." Peach questioned.

"I think that's the point, Peach. Everything about how this guy operates his group doesn't make sense. Before he put a hit on Link and Zelda, he had Blood Falcon killing random people of no threat." Snake replied. "Bayo, call the others and tell them to reinforce security on the smaller settlements."

"Got it." She nodded and went to get the radio.

"Anything else you wish to know?" Deacon asked Snake.

"Yeah…what are you?"

"Hmm? You'll need to be more specific."

"What is it that makes you different from all the other Darknuts? How is it that you know all of this?"

"Oh…" Deacon sounded surprised by the question. He was never asked it obviously, but he never thought much about it. "Truthfully…I don't know. I don't have any memory of being a Darknut. My first memory was of me waking up in the middle of nowhere. I knew my name, various information about Smash Brothers, its fighters, and what's happened in the Wasteland. And for some reason, I had the urge to climb up to this mountain and make it my home. When I meditate up here, I'm able to learn what's going on out there as it's happening."

Snake rubbed his chin, thinking about Deacon's explanation.

 _He's like a database that's constantly updating information._

"Deacon. Have you ever gotten the feeling that you might have been…invented?" Snake questioned further.

"Yes. It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility." Deacon nodded.

"Seems like you've got your own answers to look for. Maybe we'll find them for you during our journey." Peach said.

"I would certainly appreciate it." Deacon chuckled.

"Well we need to get going. Thank you, Deacon." Snake shook the Darknut's hand.

"Farewell. I will be wishing you luck on your journey."

Snake and his friends made their way down the mountain and reorganized when they made it to the bottom.

"So where do we go from here?" Bayonetta asked.

"I say we head back to base. What do you think, Snake?" Alex suggested.

"Sure, but we have to find a place to camp for the night. We need to get some rest first."

"No arguments here. I am beat." Peach agreed.

And so, they journeyed forward to find a place to rest.

* * *

Back at the U.R. headquarters, several of the members were eating at a table discussing the information they received from Bayonetta's radio call.

"So, he managed to beat a Darknut with his bare hands." Wolf chuckled.

"That's what Bayonetta said." Fox replied.

"Well more importantly, we finally have an idea of who we're fighting." Lucina said.

"Emphasis on the "idea" part, because I don't think any of us know a damn about this Deathborn guy." Ike said as he poured himself a drink.

"That's the way he wants it, seeing how we only found a clue about his organization by sheer luck." Link responded. "Not to mention we had to get Snake to beat a legendary Darknut just to learn his name."

"It seems that our best bet of learning anything more is to capture whoever he sends to attack one of our settlements." Zelda said.

"Yeah. I made sure to tighten security on the smaller settlements." Link responded.

"Good. Let's hope this plan works."

* * *

"Master Deathborn?" An underling cried out.

"What is it?" The leader of the Harbingers stepped forward.

"We found him. The remains of Ganondorf's."

Though it could not be seen through the mask he wore, Deathborn smiled. "Show me." he said to the subordinate.

"Yes sir! Follow me!"

The man lead Deathborn to the laboratory in their base. Laid out on a table was the corpse of Ganondorf. His face was a mess, with half of it blown off. He was also missing his right arm, and most of his armor was either gone or severely damaged.

"We could easily revive him. We have all the technology needed to do it." One of his men said.

"He would be a powerful ally!"

"Yes he certainly would…" Deathborn said. "Everyone please step away from the table."

The others were surprised by the sudden order. "Uh…yes sir."

Deathborn extended his arm out, his hand pointed towards the body. He charged a ball of energy from his palm and shot the corpse with it, disintegrating what was left of the King of Evil.

"MASTER DEATHBORN?!" the others panicked.

"That bastard was never a team player. If Bowser was still alive, he'd tell you the same thing. If we revived him, I'm positive that he would just kill everyone in this base." Deathborn explained.

"Okay then…but why did you have us look for the body? Why not just leave his corpse to rot?" One of his men asked.

"Because if we left it, some idiot would come along and attempt to revive him. I don't want Ganondorf alive. His agenda conflicts with ours, and he's a threat to the natural order. Understand?"

"Yes sir." They all said in unison.

"Good." Deathborn nodded and left the room, leaving his subordinates to take in what just happened.

* * *

Luigi and Link stationed themselves at a small settlement, on the lookout for any suspicious characters that might be a Harbingers assassin. After hours of Luigi looking through binoculars, he finally spotted someone that might fit the bill.

"Link! I see someone!" Luigi said urgently.

"Really? What does he look like?"

"Well he's got a hat on, obscuring most of his face. He's also wearing a longcoat. He definitely has something to hide." Luigi deduced.

"Sounds like it. How do you want to do this?" Link asked.

"I'll go up to meet him along with some soldiers, try to talk him down. If he makes any sudden moves, you be ready to attack him from behind." Luigi planned.

"Got it."

Luigi met up with a group of guards that would accompany him.

"Squad leader, is your team ready?" he asked.

"Yes sir! We're all equipped with non-lethal weapons as instructed." The squad leader confirmed.

"Very good. Now let's get ready to welcome our visitor."

They had a plan and they would stick to it. No matter how dangerous this assassin may be, lethal force was restricted. He is to be taken alive.

Luigi and the soldiers blocked the entrance to the settlement. The man in the long coat walked up to them and stopped.

"Hello there! Welcome to our little settlement. What brings you here stranger?" Luigi questioned.

"Just looking for a place to rest is all." The man answered in a very monotone voice.

"Well you've come to the right place. We'll go ahead and take your coat for you."

"No thank you. But I appreciate it the offer."

Luigi smiled. "Oh, I think you misunderstood me. That wasn't a request."

The mystery man gawked at Luigi. "Excuse me?"

"I'm afraid you're not getting in here unless you let us take your coat. It's a security matter. If you've got nothing to hide then it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Luigi looked at him sternly, and the guards began to form around him.

The man looked frantically around him, a frustrated growl came out of his mouth. "All right. If you want to see what's under my coat…" The man threw his long coat off and to the shock of Luigi and the soldiers, revealed a bomb strapped to his chest. "I'LL SHOW YOU!"

But as he went to press the detonator, a boomerang hit the back of his head with great impact. As he was about to collapse unconscious, Luigi and the soldiers caught his body from hitting the ground to ensure nothing hit the detonator to make the bomb go off.

"I've got the detonator sir!" A soldier said after taking it safely from the attacker's hands.

"Great work soldier! Now hold onto it until we get this bomb off of him." Luigi ordered and he and the others went to work.

"Great job everyone! Flawless work!" Link stepped in and complimented.

"That was one hell of a throw!" Luigi chuckled. "Even after seven years you're still a crack shot."

"I've still been practicing. I don't want to get rusty." Link laughed. "Now let's get this guy ready for questioning."

* * *

"Looks like this is good place to take shelter." Snake said as they walked into a cave.

"It's always caves with you, Snake. You can never settle for an inn or a motel. Anything with a little more class." Bayonetta said jokingly.

The good mood was quickly shattered as a projectile exploded in front of them. They jumped back and readied for a fight.

"Shit! What the hell was that?!" Alex shouted.

"That's your only warning! Come any further and I will kill all of you!" A rough voice coming from deeper in the cave threatened. "You may have taken one of the boys, but I will not let you take the other boy!"

"What are you talking about?! We're not here to hurt or take anyone!" Peach replied.

"Play innocent all you want! You will not get me to drop my guard!"

"She's telling the truth! We're not your enemy! In fact, we may be able to help you!" Snake offered.

No response came from the person in the cave. It was silent for the next ten seconds.

"Hello?" Snake said trying to get a response.

"I know that voice…" The voice finally returned.

Snake's eyes widened, as he came to a realization of his own. "And…I know that voice."

"And I know that aura."

 _Aura?! Can it really be..._

"Snake?"

"Lucario?"

* * *

 **Did anybody expect Deathborn? Does anybody even know Deathborn? Anyway, there's our story's villain.**


	14. Broken Spirits

"Snake! Old friend...it really is you." Lucario stepped out and revealed himself.

"Lucario. I never thought I'd see you again." Snake smiled.

This was a very happy reunion. Lucario was one of two fighters that Snake first met, the other being Meta Knight. It was on the Halberd airship. Lucario discovered Snake hiding in a cardboard box. He and Meta Knight thought Snake was an enemy, and Snake felt the same towards them. But before they could engage in combat, they realized they were surrounded by Subspace forces. Putting their supposed differences aside, the three worked together to fight against the horde. That's when they realized that there was no hostility between them, and they were in fact fighting the same enemy. From there they formed a team, and eventually forged a friendship that was unbreakable.

The two shook hands for the first time in seven years. Lucario looked behind Snake and realized there were a couple more familiar faces.

"Peach! Bayonetta! It's so good to see you two again."

The two ladies smiled and nodded, feeling the same way. Lucario then looked at Alex.

"You…I do not believe we've met before."

"We haven't. I'm Alex. I'm with them. You must be one of the old Smash fighters. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Well any friend of Snake's is a friend of mine. Good to meet you, Alex."

"Before we get too comfortable, I have to ask; who did you think we were when we came in here?" Snake asked.

"Ah yes. I thought you might have been Deathborn's soldiers." Lucario answered.

"So, you know about him too?" Peach asked.

"I do, unfortunately."

"You said something about him "taking the boys"; What did you mean by that?" Snake questioned.

"Follow me and I'll show you. But please remain quiet, he's resting right now."

The four nodded in agreement and followed Lucario further into the cave. He eventually brought them to a familiar boy, now a young adult, sleeping like a rock. Snake, Peach and Bayonetta were shocked.

"Is…is that Ness?!" Bayonetta whispered.

"Indeed it is." Lucario nodded.

"My god, look at him! He's all grown up!" Peach smiled.

Alex tapped Snake on the shoulder to get his attention. "Sorry to ask, but who is that?"

"That's Ness, a veteran Smash fighter. He was there since the first tournament. And he was only a teenager when he competed." Snake answered.

"Woah! What is he, some sort of martial arts prodigy?"

"No, but he's a master of psionics."

"Psionics?"

"Oh sorry, you're probably more familiar with its other name; Psycho kinesis, or psychic powers."

"A psychic! Wow!" Alex said, now awestruck.

Snake suddenly frowned. "Lucario. You said that they already took one of the kids. And I think I've got a feeling of who that might be."

Lucario let out a saddened sigh. "Yes. They got Lucas a couple of weeks ago."

Just as Snake thought. "Dammit…" He muttered.

"Little Lucas?! No!" Peach cried out.

"If they do anything to or god forbid, kill that boy; those bastards are going to pay!" Bayonetta shook her fist.

"I don't think we have to worry too much on Lucas' life being in danger. If Deathborn wanted them dead, he would have had his soldiers kill Lucas and Ness when they ambushed us. They tried to kill me of course, but I remember their captain telling them to not use lethal force on the boys. So, I believe…"

"He wants the kids for their powers." Snake finished Lucario's statement for him.

"My thoughts exactly." Lucario nodded.

"Well even if his life isn't in immediate danger, we should still make rescuing him priority number one!" Peach said.

"Yes, but the problem is we still barely know a damn about this guy, let alone where his base is." Bayonetta frowned.

"Alright let's calm down, remember we need to get some rest. Worrying ourselves about the situation won't do any good. Let's just hope that our friends back home managed to catch one of Deathborn's men." Snake convinced everyone to relax. They sighed heavily and regained their composure, finally starting to get a spot to rest.

* * *

Link had their mystery attacker put in an interrogation room for questioning. He and several of the others looked at him from a one-way window outside the room.

"So, how are we going to go about this, Link?" Ike asked.

Link glared at the man inside the room. "Well first thing to establish, we will not resort to torture! No matter how difficult he makes it to get information, none of us lay a finger on him. We will not stoop down to that level. Understood?" Link asked, wanting to be sure he got his point across. Everyone in the room nodded. "Good! Fox. Lucina. Come with me to question him." He ordered.

The three of them entered the room, the man lifted his head up to look at them. He had a blank expression on his face ever since he was put in this room. No real emotion radiated from him. No anger, fear, anxiousness.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Link started, getting no response from the man. "You got a name?"

The man finally spoke up. "If I did, it was taken from me some time ago. You can just call me Fourteen."

"Why name yourself a number?" Lucina asked.

"Because I'm Deathborn's fourteenth assassin unit. I didn't choose the name, it was branded on me." Fourteen answered.

"Branded? You sound like you're not very proud to work for Deathborn." Fox thought aloud.

"Yeah…I'm not. I hate the man."

"So why work for him?"

"Here's how it works. I wake up in a lab with no memory of who I used to be. Asshole comes up to me and says that since he was very impressed with my combat abilities, I was now one of his hitmen. If I followed orders, I was fed and given a bed to sleep on along with a roof over my head. I disobey, he kills me. Plain and simple." Fourteen explained.

"Okay, but why were you about to blow yourself up for his plans?" Link asked. "That seems like something someone would do if they were very devoted to a cause."

"You thought I was going to martyr myself for Deathborn's "Natural Order" idealogy?" Fourteen laughed.

"Well yeah. From our perspective can you really blame us?"

"No…I can't. So here's the deal. The bomb was not part of the plan I was given. I was just supposed to kill everybody and get out. The bomb was something I added myself."

"Why?!" Lucina asked.

"Because I wanted to die. I had enough. Living the way I am just isn't worth it. To be forced to do someone's bidding in exchange for living. I wanted to end it, but I was going to die on my terms."

"But why try to kill the rest of the settlement along with you. You would've died giving Deathborn what he wanted. Why didn't you just blow yourself up in an open field?" Fox questioned.

"It's kind of a stupid reason. Despite not hating who I worked for, I had some warped since of pride in completing every mission assigned to me. My pride wanted to me to go out completing that mission, so I'd leave with a perfect record." He laughed, internally berating himself for how foolish he was. "But looks like you and your crew stopped me…I failed my mission…"

The room went quiet for a minute. Link, Fox, and Lucina struggled to figure out what to ask from there. Fourteen just lowered his head, sighing.

"If you expected any resistance from me then don't worry, you're not going to get any. I'll tell you what you want to know. I don't know everything about Deathborn and how his organization works, but I know a lot more than most people you can find." Fourteen said.

Link looked at the others, shocked by how this situation was playing out. They expected this to be very difficult.

"Well okay then. Let's start with your attack. What was the purpose? What was it supposed to accomplish?" Link began questioning.

"Pretty obvious isn't it? Create chaos, cause fear, panic. Textbook terrorism."

"I thought as much. But if that's the case, why didn't he send you to one of our major settlements with a larger population? Seems that would've been a lot more frightening."

"Ah! That's a good question. Before I answer that, can I ask how you knew to reinforce security on the smaller settlements? I was quite surprised you and the man in green were there to stop me." Fourteen expressed his curiosity.

"We got a tip from somebody, told us that our best bet would be to worry about the smaller settlements."

"So you're aware of how unorthodox Deathborn's methods seem to be?"

"Yeah, we were confused about it. Do you know why he works like this?"

"I do and I must say, it's a pretty clever plan on his part." Fourteen began. "He's not going to be sending anyone to attack a big area like the Capital anytime soon. He knows there's too much security, and it's also too predictable. He wants to target the smaller settlements because you wouldn't expect it, and therefore have loose security. He figured it would be easy to go into those settlements eliminate every living being there, and ruin the UR's reputation."

"Ruin our reputation? What do you mean by that?" Lucina asked.

"People look up to the UR as an organization that keeps people safe. The reason people want their settlements to be under the UR is for protection. So what do you think would happen if about five small settlements got wiped out with little to no resistance? How would people living in small settlements feel about that."

The three were struck with the realization and looked grim because of it.

"Oh shit…" Fox cursed.

"They'd think we don't care about them…" Lucina said.

"Bingo! The point is to make the people living in those small areas believe that if you don't live in one of the major areas, then the UR doesn't give a damn about you're safety. Who knows what those people would do if they formed an angry mob about that." Fourteen put it bluntly. "Fortunately you did save that little settlement, so good on you. But don't forget the others." He warned.

"He's right. I'm sure Deathborn's got more hitmen at his disposal. We need to keep our security strong on all settlements." Link stated.

"How about this question? What is the "Natural Order" that Deathborn seems so fond of?" Fox asked.

"A mad man's idea on how the world should be. That what it is."

"Care to elaborate?"

Fourteen groaned in annoyance. "Fine! I'll explain it as I understand it. Basically the "Natural Order" is a world without order. As in no government or organization that dictates what's allowed and what's not, what's evil and what's good. No one like the Hands, the Committee, or the UR are supposed to exist. Individuals have nothing, no one to restrict what they do, and their safety and survival can only be ensured by their own strength." Fourteen explained the strange ideology. "In layman's terms; a world the strong live, and the weak die."

"What a maniac!" Lucina scoffed.

"No I don't think you can call him that." Fourteen interjected.

"Why not?"

"Because that implies that he's mentally unstable. He is not crazy, not a madman. He is completely sane. He knows what his actions result in, and he's fine with what happens."

"Okay let's get back on track. Next question, do you know where his base is?" Link asked.

"Which one?"

"Excuse me?" He asked again to check if he heard right.

"I asked which one because he's got multiple bases, and I only know where one of them are."

The three in the room and all the others watching outside groaned with frustration. It was becoming very clear that finding this man would be a chore.

* * *

"Master Deathborn." One of the men addressed him.

"Yes?"

"We're about to interrogate the boy again. Do you wish to see?"

Deathborn let out a sinister laugh in respose. "Actually, why don't you tell the boys to sit this one out. I'll do the questioning myself." He ordered and got up from his chair. His men stepped aside and let him enter the interrogation room where a young blonde man was held captive. "Oh Lucas. My how you've grown." Deathborn said with a mocking tone of affection.

"What the hell do you want?!" Lucas growled at the man that towered above him. He vehemently wanted to strike the monstrous excuse of a man, but his hands were tied and behind his back. Worse yet, the room the put him in stopped any of his psychic powers.

"What do I want? How rude, thinking that I'm only here because I want something in exchange." He responded with faux disappointment. "No I've just come for a little chat."

"I've got nothing to say to you!" Lucas further rebelled.

"That's alright, I'm fine with a one-sided conversation. Would you at least like a cup of tea?"

"Fuck…off!"

"I'll leave you a cup just in case you change your mind." Deathborn smiled. "You're a very gifted young man Lucas. Not just everybody can wield those powers the way you and Ness can. But I've always wondered why were you gifted with those powers." He began. "Ness, I understand. That boy is cheerful, optimistic, and brave! He was willing to save anyone…even you."

This seemed to be touching on a nerve with Lucas, who looked up and glared at Deathborn.

"How did it feel whenever Ness took the bullet for you? When he got turned into a trophy instead of you. And more importantly how did it feel to just let Wario take him away, doing nothing to stop him." He continued to question with a wicked sneer. "You had your powers, so why didn't save him? You failed him!"

"No! Shut up!" Lucas shouted furiously, wishing to lash out at the man. He hated being reminded about that moment back during the Subspace conflict. Even though Ness told him repeatedly that he had no need to feel sorry and the he didn't harbor any bad feelings towards him, Lucas couldn't say he had ever forgiven himself. Deathborn crossed him arms and snickered. He was getting under the boy's skin, just like he wanted.

"Actually, I apologize to you Lucas, because I just realized something. I can't entirely blame you for failing to save him. Because you know what they say…the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Lucas gasped and his eyes widened. Was he talking about who he thought he was? Did he dare talk about…

"Your father Clint. Poor old Clint, he was the biggest failure of your entire family. He failed to save your beloved mother Hinawa, and he sure as hell failed to save your brother Claus. And maybe even the worst part is that he also failed you as a father. You would that you being the only family he had left, would treasure you, look after you, be there for you." Deathborn continued. "But he wasn't! Instead he wallowed in his failure and self-pity, barely even talking to you or even paying attention to you." He laughed.

"So now I see it. You can't help but be a failure, it's in your blood, passed down to you by your pitiful father."

Lucas could not even respond back to him with some sort of insult. His mind was being flooded by all those terrible memories he wished to forget, now being reawakened by the man in front of him.

"You know you and Ness seem to be good friends, but sometimes I wonder if there's an animosity you hold towards him. Before the Catastrophe he had a loving and alive mother, a pretty litter sister that adored him, and a father who while not always physically present, would constantly call in to check on his dear boy he loved so much. It's no wonder Ness would get a little homesick during his adventure, he had a wonderful family waiting for him when he got back!" Deathborn sang the praises of Ness' family. "I can't help but wonder if you were jealous, envious of him, because he had what you always wanted. It must of driven you crazy when he brought you to visit his family, wondering why you couldn't have that in your life.'

"SHUT UP!" Lucas screamed at the top of his lungs. Despite the room's ability to suppress his powers, this surge of emotions cause a little bit of energy to crackle like electricity around him, if only for a brief moment. Deathborn smirked at the display of power. It was what he wanted to see. After his emotional roar, Lucas held his head low, bitter tears began dropping from his eyes.

"Why are you doing this?! Is this the only reason you captured me?" He asked.

"Of course not! I don't capture people just for sport or entertainment. They have to be useful. So don't you worry, this isn't the reason I decided to capture you."

"Then why are you doing this?!" Lucas begged to know.

"Because Lucas, there's nothing I love more to go with my tea than sugar…and a broken spirit." He sneered and took a sip from his cup. He finally turned and left the room. "I'll be back later, then we can talk about why you're really here."

And Lucas was left in that room as an emotional wreck.

* * *

While his friends were sleeping, Snake sat at the entrance of the cave staying on lookout. He didn't tell the others but when they camped somewhere to rest, he'd only get two or three hours of sleep before getting up and going on watch. However he wasn't the only one awake this time.

"Why are you not sleeping like the rest?"

Snake turned to see Lucario was awake as well.

"Well I did sleep, just not much."

"Do you have trouble sleeping?" Lucario asked.

"Nothing like that. I just don't need that much sleep to function. I spent most of my life on battlefields. Getting a proper eight hours of sleep was never really an option. I just got sleep whenever it was safe, but I didn't sleep long. Over time I guess I got used to not needing too much sleep." Snake explained. "What about you? Why are you awake?"

"I do not require much sleep." Lucario answered simply.

"I see."

Snake looked away in the distance before chuckling as something came to mind. "You know I just remembered, we were so busy talking about Deathborn that we didn't get a chance to catch up. What have you been up to these past seven years?" Snake asked.

"Ah yes! It seems we did skip over those details. Well lucky for me on that day, I was out of the blast area; in a forest, far away from where it took place. Obviously, I survived without a scratch…not something everyone can say." Lucario said and took a look at the horn shaped shrapnel lodged into Snake's head. "And the boys survived the blast as well, as I found them a week later. However, I found out that they were not adept when it came to surviving in this world after it had changed so fast."

"How so?"

"I found them collapsed in the middle of the road. They were weak and starving. Lucas and Ness are strong fighters but they didn't know about the basics of surviving in a wasteland. After all, they were still just children. They didn't have a grasp of things like hunting for food, finding shelter, knowing to be cautious of the people you come across. For the life of them, they could not adjust. They were still in shock, maybe even in denial of what had happened. So, that's when I stepped in."

"So, you taught them the essential lessons of survival?"

"That's right. I took them under my wing and we've been traveling together for all these years. They caught on quick to what I taught them, and before I knew it, they've now become young men." Lucario chuckled and smiled for a bit. He sounded proud to say that. Shortly after, he sighed and was frowning.

Snake looked at him and could immediately tell what was going through his friend's mind. "Don't worry, we're going to get him back."

Lucario just responded with a grunt.

"Yes. We will." He nodded. "So what about you? What have you been doing for the last seven years?"

Snake smirked. "That is a very long story." He warned.

"I've got time." Lucario replied. Snake shrugged and decided to tell his story.

"Alright. Just try not to fall asleep on me…"


	15. Deathborn: First Encounter

The sun rose as morning came. Snake had finished telling Lucario his story.

"Thanks for not falling asleep on me." Snake said. The two then heard the small sounds of a young man laughing and cheering inside the cave.

Lucario smiled. "Looks like the boy is awake."

Soon afterwards Ness walked out of the cave with Peach, Bayonetta and Alex. They all finished their greetings while in the cave, but Ness had yet to see or talk to Snake. Upon seeing the man, Ness' face lit up with a bright smile.

"Mr. Snake!" Ness cheered and ran up to Snake. Snake smiled looking at Ness. Just hearing his voice alone showed how much he had grown. His voice was deeper in pitch. He was taller, stronger. But there were things that didn't change with his age. Like his bright, cheerful personality.

"Mr. Snake it really is you!"

"Hey Ness. It's great to see you again." He said and shook the boy's hand.

"I talked with the others in the cave. So you're gonna help us find Lucas?"

"Yes. We're going to do everything we can to get him back. But first we have to return to HQ. I want to know what they found out from the assassin they captured, and then make a plan from there." Snake assured him. "Is everyone ready to get going?"

"Yes!" They confirmed in unison.

* * *

 _Back at headquarters…_

"Dammit!" Lucina cursed and banged her fist on to a table in frustration. "Multiple bases! Why does this guy have to be so difficult to find?!"

"Look on the bright side. He was able to tell us where one of them is located." Fox said.

"Yeah. Mute City." Link nodded. "Makes sense. If you wanted to make a base hard to spot, that would be a place to do it."

"Why is that?" Zelda asked. Robin stepped in and answered for him.

"It's because no one ever goes there anymore. The place is just littered with rubble, debris and destroyed buildings. There's nothing to take, nothing to gain from there. That's why no one goes there." She explained.

"Well, looks like we'll be paying the place a visit. We don't have much else to go on, so I say we go there." Lucina suggested.

"We will. But first we have to wait for Snake and his group to get back. We need to fill them in on all of this." Zelda said.

"Can't we just tell him over the radio" Fox asked.

"I'd rather them hear it once they're back and have freshened up. They must be exhausted."

"Alright then." Fox nodded and walked out. Zelda then looked at Link and asked "Ike. Did he…"

"Yes. He set out last night. We should be hearing from him soon."

Three days. Three days had passed, and Palutena had not fulfilled her part of the agreement. Whether this was due to lack of trying or just incompetence, Ike didn't care. He was heading straight for her temple, and he was going into Skyworld and get answers from Hades. They would not stop him from going in. And if they tried, he wasn't afraid to take their lives.

Ike was taken out of his thoughts when he noticed something heading towards him at a very high speed. It wasn't running, it looked like it was flying. Ike grabbed the handle of his sword, preparing for the worst. But once it got closer, Ike could see that it was none other than Pit. The angel's flight came to a halt once he got within speaking distance to Ike.

"Ike! Boy, am I glad I caught up with you!"

"Your time has run out, so unless you have something useful to tell me, get out of my way so I can go find Hades."

"No, no, no! That's the thing! We caught Hades! That's why I was heading towards your headquarters." Pit excitedly explained.

"Really? Did you get him to talk?" Ike questioned.

"Well that's the weird thing. We didn't really need to do anything to get him to talk. He was pretty forward with explaining everything. He sounded like he didn't care, and I think he really doesn't care."

"But why? Isn't he involved with what is going on?"

"Hades involvement pretty much goes as far as 'I gave a guy some of my soldiers for kicks'. And that guy is named Deathborn."

"I figured." Ike sighed. "So, that's really all his motivations are? Just to watch another world burn."

"I'm afraid so." Pit answered.

"Dammit! That gets us nowhere!" Ike fumed.

"Well he did give us one bit of information that's pretty useful." Pit objected.

"And what's that?"

"To look for Deathborn in Mute City…"

* * *

At long last, Snake and his friends made it back to headquarters. But before they could get any rest, they had to be filled in on what they learned from the man named Fourteen. Ike radioed in the information given to him by Pit. With all the information gathered, it was time to form a plan.

"So essentially, we're searching Mute City." Link summarized.

"All signs seem to point there." Snake said.

"Alright, well I guess now we figure out who's going." Zelda said.

"Me." Snake immediately answered.

"Now hang on a minute Snake." Zelda cut in. "You've been going on mission after mission with no stopping in between. We want you to sit this one out."

"But-"

"Snake. We insist that you do take a break. All of this will take a toll on your body." Rosalina highly suggested.

"You won't be good to anyone if you break down in the middle of a mission." Wolf chuckled.

Snake wanted to argue. He had been following this trail for too long for him to just stop at the point where they might encounter the man behind it all. But he looked at the other members and could tell they weren't going to budge about this. He sighed in defeat.

"Alright, fine!" He conceded.

"Thank you, Snake." Zelda smiled.

"I'll be going. I've been standing on the sidelines for too long. I think it's time for me to step in." Link announced.

"I'll go with you." Fox spoke up.

"If there is a possibility we can save Lucas, I must go." Lucario stated.

"I'm going too." Lucina said.

"Then I guess it's settled." Zelda said.

* * *

When the meeting was over, Snake picked up some dinner from a one of the food vendors in the Capital. He still had trouble getting over the fact that he was essentially forced to sit out this next mission. He was not angry with his friends in any way. They were just doing what friends do and watching out for his well-being. He just didn't believe that their concerns were valid.

He knows his body. If it was going to give out any time soon, he would know it. They didn't seem to understand that he wandered the wasteland for seven years. He was used to traveling everyday with little amounts of rest. Hell! At times, he would go to sleep after treating a bullet wound or several other injuries. He was good to go for this mission, but there was just no convincing the others.

"Hello Snake." Robin greeted as she approached his table. "Mind if I sit here?"

"It's yours." He replied. She sat down at the other side of the table, facing him. While she ate, she noticed Snake just sitting at his seat looking troubled.

"Hey!"

"Huh?! What?" Snake asked, startled out of his thoughts.

"What's the matter with you? You don't look right." Robin said. Snake sighed. There was no use hiding it.

"Of course, I'm not. There's a big mission about to happen and I've been told to sit it out!" He expressed his frustration.

"Snake it's just for your own health."

"I know that! But that doesn't make me feel any less useless!"

"You're not useless! I'm sure there are things you can help us with at the base." Robin tried to assure him.

"You're wrong!" Snake protested. "If I am not out there on the field, I am worthless!" He said and tightened his fists.

"What are you talking about?"

"Fighting! It's what I'm good at! The only thing I've ever been good at! And there's a reason for that! It was why I was created!" He snapped.

Robin realized what he was referring to. The _Les Enfants Terribles_ project; French for "The Terrible Children". A project orchestrated by the Patriots, a secret organization in Snake's universe. The purpose was to produce clones of the legendary soldier Big Boss, resulting in Snake and his twin brother, Liquid Snake. Snake had told her and the others the story before.

It sickened her just thinking about it. They heavily modified Snake's genes to make him excel at combat, and nothing else. They didn't allow him to be anything other than a fighter. He was made for the sole purpose of being a weapon.

"Snake…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." She apologized.

Snake took a moment to relax before speaking again. "Don't worry about it. Sorry for blowing a gasket there."

"It's fine. Now listen. Tell me something. Are you worried about the other four going to Mute City?"

"Yes."

"Why? You don't think they can beat Deathborn if they run into him?" She questioned.

"It's not that I don't think they can win, it's that I don't know if they can win!" Snake replied, causing Robin to have a puzzled look on her face. "Think about it! We know _who_ we're up against; but we don't know _what_ we're up against. We know his name, but we don't know the full extent of his strength."

"I see. That is quite a problem." She agreed. "But based on what you've heard, how powerful do you think he might be?"

"I know he's not unbeatable. He's been killed three times in the past, but he's always been revived by someone. They would swap out his original body parts with mechanical ones. After dying three times, I'm curious as to how much of his original body is left. And I wonder if he's become stronger with each death."

"I think that's a no-brainer. Whoever his mysterious benefactor is that keeps putting him back together, they must put some augmentations in him with each death. Of course he'll be stronger." She replied. "Now I guess we'll need to look into the people that put him back together."

"There's no need for that. Not right now at least."

"Why?"

"Because we don't have time to be looking for shadows. And there is a way to put this guy down for good. We've got to obliterate him. Completely." said Snake.

"You're right! If there's not a scrap of him left, then there's no way to reconstructe him."

Several minutes passed by and Robin and Snake finished their meals and headed back home.

"Please Snake, try to get some rest. I promise we'll update you on anything that happens." Robin pleaded.

"I know, I know! I'll get some rest." He said with a heavy sigh. "By the way, have you had any progress in looking for Crazy Hand's writings?"

"I'm afraid not. Our soldiers haven't had any luck in finding more journal entries."

"That's too bad. Hopefully it pops up sooner or later." Snake said and headed back home.

* * *

It was late in the night. Snake managed to get a few hours of sleep in but eventually woke up in the middle of the night. He couldn't take it. He couldn't relax knowing that Deathborn could be at Mute City. His lone wolf tendencies began to resurface. And he decided that in his opinion, it would be best if he handled this issue alone. So, in the middle of the night, he snuck into the armory and retrieved his equipment. He left his radio behind however. If his was to go Lone Wolf, then he had to go all the way. No radio support. Besides, he wasn't willing to listen to them screaming at him over the radio once they realized he was gone. Telling him how this is not a good idea. That would have to wait for when he got back. Once he was suited up, he made his quiet escape out of headquarters and headed for Mute City. Before he left, he turned to look back at the Capital and frowned.

 _I'm sorry about this, everyone. I know you'll think this is a bad idea, and you might be right. But this is something I've got to do._

* * *

By the evening of the next day, Link, Fox, Lucina and Lucario were very close to Mute City. They were notified over the radio about Snake's disappearance and how he went off the grid.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Fox wondered.

"I wish I could say; but I never could read that guy." Link responded.

"It is confusing, but know this. Whatever he's doing, I'm sure he has a good reason for it." Lucario said.

"We can talk about this later. Because we're finally here." Lucina said as they made it to the entrance of the city.

Suddenly, Lucario's eyes widened and he let out a loud gasp.

"What's wrong?!" Link asked.

"I'm sensing a very powerful energy coming right towards us!" Lucario alerted them. He was detecting somebody's aura, and it was frightening.

An incredibly tall man appeared before them. Wearing a menacing-looking mask, a long coat and a sinister black cape, the man looked very intimidating. An evil chuckle could be heard as he approached them.

"It's…it's HIM!" Lucario said

"That's Deathborn?!" Lucina asked.

"The one and only." Deathborn replied. "Word from the grapevine told me that Fourteen was captured during his mission, and was questioned. I had a feeling he'd tell you about my operations here, so I decided to set up a welcoming committee for you."

Shortly after he said this, his troops came out of hiding and aimed at the four.

"Weapons down for now!" Deathborn ordered the soldiers. "No need to kill them just yet."

While this was occurring, Snake had arrived at Mute City; using a hijacked vehicle to get there faster.

"Oh shit!" Snake muttered as he saw his friends were already engaged with Deathborn. He snuck behind some cover, listening to their conversation and waiting for an opportunity to either strike, or slip past them.

"So. Where is he?" Deathborn asked the group.

"Who are you talking about?" Lucina shouted.

"The Nomad. Solid Snake. The man who once represented how one should act in my ideal world."

"He's not with us." Link simply replied.

Deathborn let out a wicked laugh. "Oh how boring! The U.R. finally finds my location and they send in the B-Team to deal with me!" He cackled, his comment earning growls from the four.

"You won't be talking shit once we take out all of your men! Once they're gone, you won't stand a chance." Fox threatened him.

"Oh! You mean the soldiers? They're not here as back up, they're just here for show! But since you mention them, I suppose they have worn out their welcome, so…"

He aimed his arms at his soldiers and shot charged energy blasts from his hands, annihilating all of his own soldier himself. Behind his mask, he had a sinister smile after doing this.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Lucina asked.

"To illustrate a point. I don't need other people to fight my battles for me." The villain stated.

Snake smirked after seeing Deathborn kill his own men. " _What a fool! Doesn't he realize he just drastically decreased the security of his base. Now we'll be able to get in there with little resistance._ " Snake thought. Though he realized there was one problem; Deathborn himself. No way in hell was he going to let them inside. He had to be dealt with, something easier said then done. He decided to remain hidden and let the others attempt to take Deathborn out. If things get out of hand however, he would have to step in.

"So, you really plan on fighting me? That's equivalent to suicide. But if you want to take the cowards way out, I'd be more than happy to oblige you!" Deathborn taunted.

"You know, you talk a lot of shit for somebody who's been hiding in the shadows for several years!" Fox retorted.

"Maybe so, but the thing about me is that I can actually back up my claims."

Lucario used Extreme Speed to get in front of Deathborn faster than the eye can see and punched the villain in the gut. "We'll see about that." He growled. He went for a kick but Deathborn managed to block it. Deathborn grabbed him by the leg, spun around and tossed Lucario away. Though Lucario's landing on the ground was quite painful, he quickly got up.

"Where's Lucas?!" Lucario demanded in the middle of the fight.

"Nowhere safe, I can tell you that much." Deathborn said. "Don't worry, he's still alive…for now."

Link drew his bow and aimed an arrow right at Deathborn. Releasing the arrow, it flew right for the villain. But something unexpected happened. Deathborn caught the arrow with his hand. He looked a Link with an armor-piercing glare and crushed the arrow in to two pieces.

"Really? Link, I always thought you were a man of honor. Bravely facing any opposition that came your way. And now the holder of the Triforce of Courage tries to snipe me while I'm in the middle of a fight."

Deathborn seemingly teleported right in front of Link and punched the Hero in the gut. Grabbing Link by the throat, he lifted him up and then slammed him to the ground.

"This is your first and only warning! If you four are to fight me, we will do it my way. One-on-One. And since I'm feeling generous today, I will allow you to tag team this. If you need to catch your breath, you can let someone take your place." Deathborn explained. "Those are the rules. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Lucina growled.

The four fighters couldn't believe this. Here they are, coming to raid his base and kill him, and he's acting like this is all a game. They felt somewhat insulted.

"So, who's fir-" Deathborn got cut off as Fox landed a dive kick to his head. Deathborn fell to the ground, but calmly stood back up and dusted of his cape. Deathborn lashed out with a lariat, but Fox rolled under it. Fox drew out his blaster and aimed for Deathborn. He pulled the trigger multiple times, but it didn't effect Deathborn in the slightest.

"Oh, that's adorable!" Deathborn laughed. He snatched the blaster from Fox's hands and kicked him away. He then crushed the blaster with his hand. Fox's eyes widened as the pieces of his blaster fell to the ground and he looked at his towering opposition.

" _What IS HE?! A man, a machine, a monster? All of the above?!"_ He thought.

While Snake was in the background, he was assessing the battle to figure out that very question.  
" _There's no doubt that most of what he's doing is beyond human limitations. But he's not supernatural either. It's all augmentations. He can't teleport as his movement seems to suggest, it's a heavy-duty leg augmentation. It lets him move faster than the eye can see. He caught Link's arrow, so I can only guess he must have heightened reflexes. They have their limits though, he can't predict every attack coming his way, especially in close quarters. Him shrugging off Fox's shots? No brainier. Of course he would have some armor plating that's resistant to small arms fire. You'd need something like a .50 caliber bullet or most ammo used in sniper rifles to do anything to faze him. At the very least, you'd need a .44."_ Snake noted all of this to himself.

Deathborn started getting the upper hand over Fox. The pilot looked like he had reached his limit. He knocked Fox down with a vicious right hook. Link tightened his fists as he watched the brutal beating. That was far enough! He would not just stand there and let his friend get pounded into a pulp.

"TAG IN!" He shouted and stepped into the fighting area. Deathborn turned his focus to the Hyrule Hero.

"Aw! And I was just about to finish him off!" Deathborn mockingly whined. "Oh well! I made the rules and I will follow them." He said and kicked Fox out of the 'ring'. Lucina and Lucario quickly rushed to Fox's aid.

"Are you alright?!" Lucina asked.

"No, but I'll live." Fox replied and groaned in pain.

Back in the ring, Link charged at Deathborn with his sword and shield in hand. He swiped at Deathborn who blocked the Master Sword with his steel gauntlets.

" _Of course he'd have a way to block a sword."_ Link thought.

Deathborn lashed out, but Link back-flipped to avoid his attack. He caught up though and went to punch Link. The attack was block by Link's shield, but the sheer force of the attack knocked Link back slightly. Link was startled by this amount of strength. Deathborn went for a roundhouse kick that Link ducked under. Link capitalized off this and sweeped Deathborn's legs, knocking him down. He jumped and was ready to plunge the Master Sword right into the villain's heart, but Deathborn rolled out of the way just in time.

"Dammit!" Link muttered. Suddenly, Deathborn leaped towards Link like an animal and struck him with a painful diving headbutt to the chest. As Link landed on his back, he swore the he heard something in his body crack. Hopefully it wasn't too important. As Link struggled to get up, Deathborn stood before him with his arms crossed, looking really smug.

"Surely that can't be all you've got." He taunted.

Link remained silent. He pulled out a bomb and lit the fuse.

"A bomb? You really think you can hit me with that? Go ahead and try!" he challenged.

Link tossed the bomb forward. Not at Deathborn, but at the ground in front of him. The explosion created a smoke cloud that Deathborn couldn't see past.

"What?!" Deathborn shouted, confused as to what was going on. Through the smoke came a boomerang that smacked him right in the face. As he reeled back, Link came through the smoke and struck Deathborn with an aerial kick.

" _That clever dick!"_ Deathborn thought. As Link jumped up in an attempt to land his down thrust attack, Deathborn shot him with an energy blast, causing him to drop his weapon and crash to the ground.

Lucina growled. "That son of a bitch! He didn't say anything about using blasts!"

"Well he never said it wasn't allowed, but I agree with what you're saying. That was a very dishonorable move." Lucario snarled.

Lucina stepped forward. "My turn!" she announced.

Deathborn growled in frustration. He was beginning to regret allowing them the option to tag out.

"Alright, but before I let him go…"

Deathborn stomped on Link's left arm, breaking it. The swordsman cried out in agony, the others looking horrified.

"He's not going to be fighting anytime soon." Deathborn chuckled. Lucina glared at him with a look that could pierce armor.

"YOU…"

"If you fight me, you will lose! You and I both know that!" Deathborn stated. "You've all gotten too soft! If you had been living in the wasteland like a true survivor and honing your combat skills, then you'd all be capable of defeating me! But you didn't. You all eventually found some settlement to relax at. And look where it's got you all."

Lucina could only growl in frustration. She wanted to charge and fight him, but she saw Fox and Link, both equal to her in terms of combat, get decimated by this monster. Did she stand a chance?

"Now unless you have a substantial opponent to challenge me, then I think I'll just kill you all right now." Deathborn grinned and aimed his energy cannon at them.

"How about me."

Deathborn turned around, and to his surprise, it was Snake that stepped out of the shadows.


	16. Chekov's Horn

"Snake!" Lucina cheered happily.

"So, he came. Somehow I'm not surprised." Lucario chuckled. Snake turned to his four comrades.

"I want you all to stay out of this." Snake requested.

"But why?" Lucina asked.

"Yeah, if we team up on him, it'll be 5-on-1, he won't stand a chance." Fox added.

"Fox, you're exhausted. And what about Link? He's got a broken arm; and it's his dominant one as well."

"Don't worry about it! I've may have only one arm, but that's all I need to fight." Link said with great confidence.

"Okay, maybe you are still capable of fighting. Never the less, I would like you to stay out of this." Snake again requested of them.

"Can you at least tell us why?" Lucina pleaded. Snake frowned. He didn't really have a logical reason behind it, so all he could tell her was the truth.

"This is just something I feel like I need to do alone."

After a brief pause, Lucina finally nodded in understanding. "Okay. Be careful."

Snake walked towards Deathborn with an ice-cold stare on his face. Deathborn looked back at him with smirk behind his mask. "I'm so glad you could join us. It seems even when you're part of an organization, you can't stop your nomadic ways."

Snake didn't respond, he just continued to glare at him.

"By the way, I never got to thank you for taking out that bastard Captain Falcon. I've been trying to do it for years, but then you came and did it for me." Deathborn chuckled. He got no response from Snake. Deathborn decided to drop the taunting and to get serious.

"I know it was you that did it." He cryptically said.

"What are you talking about?" Snake asked.

"I know you're the one who destroyed the Chaos Emeralds. Why would you do that?" He scowled.

"Isn't it obvious? It was to keep that kind of power away from people like you." Snake answered. "And if you ask me, nobody should be trusted with that amount of power. The desire for more power is what caused the Catastrophe in the first place."

"Ah! But that's where you're wrong my friend!" Deathborn claimed.

"What? You think there's another reason?"

"But of course! Allow me to explain." Deathborn requested though didn't care for anyone's permission. "It is true that several power-crazed fighters were responsible for much of the world's destruction. However, the ones that are truly to blame are the former gods of this world! The Hands! They allowed those fighters that power when they weren't capable of harnessing it!"

Snake frowned. While the way Deathborn explained it was odd to say the least, it wasn't completely inaccurate.

"The Catastrophe marked the end of the Age of the Hands! Now it is the age of our kind." Snake rolled his eyes. He couldn't count how many times he's heard that one before. "Tell me then, what is this perfect utopian world you want to create?" Snake mocked. He didn't care about what he had to say, but he didn't think it would be bad to know what his deal is.

Though he knew Snake was mocking him, Deathborn humored him anyway. "Isn't it obvious? With the Hands out of the picture, it is our time to choose how the world will be. We, the mortals of this realm."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but that's kind of what the UR is about. Allowing people a voice, creating homes, and making people's lives better." Snake retorted.

"I understand that, and that's one of the main problems I have with your little group." Deathborn sneered. "Your organization; it coddles the weak. Gives them a sense of security knowing that someone else is out there to protect them from harm. They are useless if they're out in the Wasteland. They wouldn't last an hour." He further elaborated. "Ask yourself; is that truly a way to live? Relying on the strength of others to keep you safe? I believe not. The real way to live is relying on your own strength, and that strength alone, to survive! That is what the Natural Order is all about."

"So, a world where everyone's sole purpose is self-preservation."

"It will be filled with conflict and battle. Sounds like our type of world, doesn't it?"

"No! That's not the world I want!"

"Oh, come on Snake! Don't lie to yourself! We both know that fighting is the only thing your good at. If there is no conflict in the world, your existence is practically meaningless." Deathborn taunted.

"Maybe, maybe not. But the world doesn't revolve around my existence. There are many others whose purpose doesn't involve fighting. And I won't allow you to take that away from them!"

"How very heroic." The villain chuckled.

"If you're worried about conflict disappearing from the world, there's no reason to. As long as there are people in the world, there will always be conflict."

"While that's true, it just sounds a hell of a lot less fun than what I have in mind!"

Deathborn finally went into his fighting stance.

"Now, how about you show me a good time, hero!"

The battle began. Snake immediately focused on Deathborn's feet. His took a step directly towards him. Snake predicted where he would be after taking that step, right in front of him. He held his arms out in front of him and blocked the punch thrown by Deathborn, who ran at him faster than the eye could see. Deathborn's eyes widened at this.

"What?!"

His shock left him open, and Snake struck him with two body blows and ended with right knuckle ramming into Deathborn's cheek. Deathborn swung his fist wildly at Snake, which was avoided. Snake kicked him in the gut and smashed his elbow on top of the enemy's skull. Snake back-dashed to get a safe distance from Deathborn before he could retaliate. He was careful not to get too far away, for as long as he was a good distance close to Deathborn, he wouldn't be able to utilize his Flash-step ability.

"I hope you know the irony of you giving that speech to my friends." Snake said.

"What?" the monstrous man wondered.

"You, telling my friends that they're weak because they haven't been straining themselves in the wasteland. But I can tell you don't come out to train every day. If you were out here, wandering and surviving, I would have heard about you. But all you've been doing is hiding underground and giving orders. So that seems like the pot calling the kettle black to me."

Deathborn chuckled. "Maybe so, but I have no need for training. I'm already a prodigy when it comes to combat."

"A combat prodigy? Well I guess your god-given combat skills weren't enough, considering you've died three times." Snake mocked, touching a nerve with Deathborn. Deathborn charged forward and bashed Snake with his fist. Snake blocked two incoming punches before his guard was broken by Deathborn ramming into him like a football player. Unable to defend himself, Snake was hit with a dropkick that knocked him on his back.

Snake couldn't deny that Deathborn was quite a powerhouse. His attacks are quite damaging when they properly hit. However, his form and technique started becoming very sloppy, making his attacks sluggish and easy to avoid.

"That's a lot of power you've got there. But is it your own or just the augmentations doing all the work?" Snake snarked.

Deathborn began laughing, which was not the reaction Snake intended to get out of him.

"Oh, so you know about my augmentations? Then I'm sure you want to see what else they can do other than let me hit harder. I'll demonstrate.

Snake remained in his fighting stance while Deathborn dropped his and raised his hand in the air, two fingers pointing to the sky.

"It is rather unfortuanate that you won't live to see young Lucas again. However, I'll give you something to remember him by." Deathborn said with mock pity. Suddenly, his two fingers began to glow.

"PK FIRE!" He pointed towards Snake and shouted, launching the signature attack.

Snake was quickly rolled out of the way of the flaming projectile. He was shocked none the less.

"But how?!" Lucario shouted, him and the others looking on in awe.

"Oh! But that's not all!" Deathborn claimed. He rushed at Snake and then performed Ganondorf's Wizard's Foot technique, hitting Snake with dark aura infused kick. It hurt like hell, but Snake quickly got up before anything else happened. Deathborn attacked with a Warlock Punch, which Snake blocked but still pushed him back regardless.

"I just love the work my people in the R&D department do for me. With a bit of a fighters DNA, they can upload it into one of my augmentations and give me the knowledge of all their techniques."

Snake growled at him. He wasn't expecting something like this. But there was no need to panic, Snake kept his cool.

"And that was only a glimpse of my full power. Now I hope you reali-"

Snake stopped his monologue with a swift and powerful right hook to the jaw.

"You were wide-open."

Deathborn growled when he looked back at his opponent. "Alright. No more talk then."

He immediately went on the offensive, leaping in the air and firing multiple fireballs at Snake.

Lucina gasped. "Isn't that-"

"Yes. It's Mario's technique." Link answered for her.

Snake was careful to avoid the fireballs, and opened fire at Deathborn with his SOCOM pistol. He knew it wouldn't do any significant damage, but the bullets were powerful enough to make Deathborn flinch, throwing off his aim.

Deathborn could tell this wasn't working, and those bullets were annoying the hell out of him, so he ceased fire and went back to the ground. Snake came at him with two punches, both of which were blocked. He quickly counter-attacked with a strike to the gut. Snake recovered from the hit faster than anticipated, and took a hold of Deathborn's right arm and put him in an arm lock. Without hesitation, Snake tightened the hold and broke Deathborn's arm. Deathborn shouted in response to the pain. He forced himself out of Snake's hold with a back-fist attack. Snake was knocked back a bit but he recovered quickly. He went back into his stance, focusing on the opponent in front of him, whose left arm drooped down like a wet noodle.

"Damn it! How could this happen? I can't be defeated!" Deathborn panicked.

While it seemed that the battle had been won, Snake thought otherwise. From experience, he had learned that it's never THAT easy.

"Don't bother with the act." Snake said, shocking Deathborn. "You've got heavy-duty augmentations on you. There's no way that something so simple like a broken arm would make you helpless. You have to have something that counters a situation like this."

Deathborn smiled behind his mask and chuckled with a sinister tone. "My, my! You are very clever aren't you?"

He got up without any trouble. His arm started to bulge, his bicep and forearm pulsing like a heart. And within a few seconds, his arm was fully functional again.

"Just as I thought." Snake said to himself.

"Yes indeed. This enhanced body of mine can reconstruct broken bones, and even injuries worse than that." Deathborn proudly explained. "But I must say, you deserve props for seeing through my act. Most of the time people think they have it in the bag and lower their guard, and then I give them a big surprise. But you did your homework Snake. Congrat-"

Once again Snake punished him for lowering his guard with a powerful attack. This time it was a roundhouse kick.

"Okay! I guess you don't want to have a little fun. Then I'll cut the crap and just kill you!"

Dashing right for him, Deathborn began exchanging blows with Snake. They punched, kicked, blocked, dodged and other things in their scuffle.

Snake began to realize that this current approach was not going to work. He could not defeat Deathborn by attacking him directly. Deathborn was much stronger than him, and far more durable physically. He needed to be creative, be more pragmatic with his attacks. He thought of something. Pulling out a frag grenade, he pulled the pin and charged at Deathborn. He hid the grenade from Deathborn's sight to trick him into thinking Snake was going for a dashing punch. Once the grenade was cooked, and he was close enough to Deathborn, Snake hurled the frag at him like a fastball. Deathborn's eyes widened before the grenade went off right in front of his face. Once the smoke cleared, Deathborn was flat on his back. Once he got back up, it was clear that Snake's attack did a substantial amount of damage. A piece of his helmet had been blown off, a bit of his head could be seen. It didn't look like skin. It looked more like black aura leaking from his helmet. He became furious and started shooting energy blast frantically. Snake was forced to get away from him, giving Deathborn the perfect distance to use his Flash-step.

With one foot forward, he ran right up to Snake faster than the eye can see, catching him off guard. Raising his fist, he smashed it right into the piece of shard shrapnel embedded in Snake's head. It actually hurt his hand, but it hurt Snake much more. He screamed in pure agony as he fell to the ground, blood dripping from that area and his head feeling like it was about to explode.

"Did he hit him where I think he did?!" Fox asked, eyes widened and filled with fear.

"Y-Yes!" Lucario hesitantly responded.

"We have to help him! Who knows what state he'll be in after getting hit there!" Link ordered.

"Right! Let's go!" Lucina lead the charge.

The terrible pain in Snake's head started going away, but things still weren't normal. Everything felt off. He couldn't remember where he was or why he was here. He didn't remember he was in combat.

"Can you still fight after that?" Deathborn laughed.

Hearing his voice, he turned around and looked at Deathborn. But from his eyes, Snake was not seeing Deathborn. Instead, he was seeing a certain familiar blonde haired man that he had a history with. And it made him absolutely furious.

"LIQUIIIIIIIIID!" He roared, he voice seemingly powerful enough to destroy windows.

"What?!" Deathborn took a step back in confusion.

The others heard his shout. And decided to pick up the pace.

"What is going on?!" Deathborn wondered. Suddenly the "shrapnel" in Snake's head began to glow, shining with multiple colors. Snake also appeared to get more powerful, his pupils no longer black, but a bright yellow. And that's when Deathborn had a realization.

"SHIT! That's no shrapnel! It's a shard! THE shard!"

"LIQUID!" Snake dashed at him with blinding speed and started attacking him with fast and powerful punches and kicks. "I'll make sure you're dead this time!" Snake said to who he believed to be Liquid Snake.

"What happened to you?!" Deathborn asked, truly frightened. Snake grabbed him and threw him through a crumbling concrete wall.

Snake's friends finally arrived and were surprised to see it was actually Snake who had the upper hand. But were ignorant of what the situation was. Snake pulled Deathborn out of the rubble he was buried under.

"So, that's the Mark! Crazy Hand gave you the Mark!"

Snake didn't give that vital information regarding Crazy Hand any attention. He was not himself. Instead he ripped Deathborn's left arm off with inhuman strength. Though the loss of an arm wasn't too painful due to it being cybernetic, he realized he had to get out of here. He kicked Snake off of him and tossed a smoke bomb on the ground, quickly fleeing and making his escape afterwards.

The other four had caught up to Snake in time to witness him rip Deathborn's arm off. While what he did was very gruesome, they felt it couldn't of happened to a nicer guy.

"Dammit!" Snake growled, furious that "Liquid" got away. His friends began to approach him, completely ignorant of his current mental state.

"Snake that was amazing!" Fox cheered. "A little bit brutal, but amazing!"

Lucario stopped in his tracks after getting closer to Snake. His eyes widened. Snake's aura was so much different. Something was wrong.

When Snake didn't face them, Link became concerned. "Hey Snake? Are you all right?"

Snake turned around, but not to the faces of his friends. Instead they looked like masked Genome soldiers from the Shadow Moses operation. His eyes twitched as he looked at Link. Lucario knew some shit was about to go down.

"LINK! Raise your shield!" Lucario demanded. The warrior instinctively did so, and blocked the incoming bullets Snake fired at him.

"Snake?! What the hell!" Link shouted, feeling a mix of anger and confusion as he slid to cover.

"Lucario?! What is going on?!" Lucina shouted.

"I do not know exactly, but I do know he is not himself! We must subdue him. Get him back to his senses!"

"I'm way ahead of you." Fox replied, taking careful aim with his blaster. Pulling the trigger, he shot the pistol right out of Snake's hands, effectively disarming him.

"Let's go!" Fox shouted and charged ahead. Running towards Snake, he ducked under one of his punches. He thought he was safe when he got behind the mercenary, but Snake showed him otherwise by lifting his leg up and smashing his foot against Fox's chin. He quickly grabbed Fox and put him in a chokehold, beginning to squeeze the life out of the pilot. Fox's story would have ended there if Lucina didn't step him and scrape Snake's back with her falchion. Snake tossed Fox aside, turning his focus to the blue haired woman, but just another Genome soldier in his eyes.

Now that she was facing him, Lucina realized the disadvantage her current situation put her in. Though Snake was currently trying to kill them, this wasn't really him. He could be brought back to reality, so they had to do anything in their power to neutralize him non-lethally. Therefore, she was quite limited to where she could attack with her sword.

She dodged as Snake threw punches and kicks her way. She managed to get a few small pokes with the very tip of his sword to land on him. But Snake would not let up, and she was beginning to lose her energy. Thankfully Link and Lucario intervened, with Link tackling Snake with his shield.

"Snake! Stop this! We are not you enemy!" Link began to reason with him. His words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Where is Liquid?!" Snake angrily questioned. Link walked towards him.

"Link what are you doing?!" Lucario shouted, wondering why he was doing something so crazy.

"Liquid? He's dead! You killed that guy years ago! It's me, Link!"

Snake smashed Link with the back of his fist, flooring him.

"NO!" Lucario roared and began charging an aura sphere.

Snake pulled out Fox's blaster he stole during their scuffle and aimed it at Link's head.

"SNAKE! DON'T!" Lucina and Fox pleaded.

Lucario almost had his aura sphere fully charged. It pained him very much, but it was looking like he was going to have to kill his good friend. Snake didn't hear their voices, but he did hear someone else's.

 _Snake. Stop this._

Snake looked startled, he began looking in every direction to see who was speaking

 _Don't tell me you've forgotten about me._

Snake took a moment to register the voice, and then it hit him.

"G-Gray Fox?!" He called out.

The others were clueless about what was going on, but it seemed Snake was becoming less volatile.

 _Do you remember the last thing I said to you?_

"Of course, I do. You said fighting was the only thing you were ever good at. But at least you always fought for what you believed in."

 _That's right! And that applies to you as well. But right now you're off track. I need you to wake up…and remember what you're fighting for._

After that, Snake's hallucinations vanished. He was back in reality, and the first thing he saw was him standing over Link, with a blaster pointed at his head. He gasped in horror and backed up, dropping the blaster.

"L-Link?" He roughly spoke up.

"Heh. It's good to see you're back." Link chuckled. Lucario sensed Snake's aura return to its natural state, and dissolved his aura sphere. He sighed with relief.

"What happened to me?" Snake desperately asked his friends. They had a feeling that he wouldn't remember any of what he did while he was going berserk. So, they filled him in. On how it all seemed to start once Deathborn punched the 'shrapnel' in his head. How he became faster and stronger. And how he was looking for his twin Liquid Snake who was long since dead.

"Aside from all of that, the good thing that came out of this is that you put Deathborn on the run." Fox said.

Snake let out a heavy sigh as he took in all this information. He quickly decided on what to do next.

"Okay, here's the plan! The four of you storm-" He had to stop mid-sentence due to a sudden pain in his head that quickly went away. "Storm Deathborn's base. Look for intel, and find Lucas. I'm going to go after Deathborn. DO NOT follow me!" He ordered.

"What? Why?" Link asked. Snake growled at that question.

"Isn't it obvious? I am now a danger to everyone around me! Who knows when this might happen again. I could become like that in the middle of HQ! I could start hurting, or god forbid killing people in there!" Snake explained. "I have to go on alone until I can figure out what's going on."

"And what makes you think that following Deathborn is going to give you that answer?" Fox asked, with a somewhat irritated tone in his voice.

"I…just have a hunch."

With that, he took off.

* * *

But it was more than just a hunch. It was information he heard from the bastard, Deathborn himself. While Snake was going berserk, his mind didn't respond to some of things people were telling him. Such as the cries of his friends, trying to get him to snap out of it. But there was one thing Deathborn said that registered through his mind.

 _So, that's the Mark! Crazy Hand gave you the Mark!_

So, he knows about Crazy Hand and most likely how he could still be alive. Snake guessed that maybe Deathborn began looking into that long before they did. Maybe he had some of his journal entries. Either way what was more important was "the Mark"; Whatever it was it was apparently Crazy's doing. And if going by Deathborn's statement, it's possible that it was on Snake.

"Where could it be?" Snake muttered to himself. He thought back, trying to remember if Deathborn was pointing somewhere when he said what he said. Nothing. Anything visual during his berserk state was a complete blur to him. He had little to no memory of it. Either way, there was still one more on this list of questions. And it's-

"What the hell is the Mark?"

So many questions, with little to no answers.

"You know who you have to find to get those answers." A man said somewhere nearby. Snake quickly grabbed his knife and pistol, readying them for a potential threat.

"Who's there?!" Snake shouted. A blonde haired man with aviator glasses, a missing arm and leg with a crutch to accommodate both of those, came towards Snake.

"It's me Snake…well sorta."

"Master Miller?" Snake identified him, his old instructor from FOXHOUND. He then shook his head. This wasn't really Master Miller. Miller had died around the time the Shadow Moses incident began, with Liquid being behind it. "You're not real, are you?"

"Well I'll be damned! How'd you figure that out so fast?" The hallucination of Miller asked.

"Not too long ago I was hallucinating being attacked by Liquid and four Genome Soldiers. I don't think it's out of the question for me to start seeing things."

"It's a side effect of the brain damage you've sustained." Said Big Boss, who seemingly walked in out of nowhere. Snake wasn't going to ask any questions.

"Well I'll look into that after I find Deathborn and get some answers about the Mark before I take him apart." Snake replied.

"Then what the hell are you doing? You ripped his God damn arm off! Use your NVGs to trace his blood, or whatever it is cyborgs like him spurt out!" Miller suggested.

"Huh. Right. Who would of thought that voices inside my head would actually help me?" he chuckled.

"You seem to be adjusting to having hallucinations talking to you rather quickly. Maybe you've been crazy longer then you thought." Big Boss joked.

"Shut up Boss." Snake simply replied and took out his goggles. He set it to Night Vision mode, and sure enough, he spotted a trail of 'blood' that was likely to be Deathborn's. "Well you were right Miller. I found…I don't know, oil? Maybe artificial blood like Raiden has? Whatever, a blood trail, and it's fresh. Should lead us to Deathborn."

He didn't get any response. He looked around and saw his hallucinations were gone. "Oh, so now you two decide to go away! Whatever!"

* * *

Having his whole arm ripped off was more damaging than Deathborn had thought it would be. His augmentations were not working properly. He couldn't cover ground at massive speed as his Flash-step was disabled. He wasn't quite aware of how his augs worked. He was regretting not paying attention to the doctor after the implant surgery.

 _Okay, so I punch him in a spot that should've killed him, or at the very least give him severe brain trauma. But no! Instead it powers him up, makes him go apeshit, see people that aren't there, and above all else rip off my fucking arm! Did I miss anything else?_

Deathborn took a moment to calm down, recollecting his thoughts.

"I had my thoughts about Crazy, but this just confirms it. It's that mark he talked about in one of his notes. He said he'd put it on someone, and I guess that someone was Snake." He clenched his fist. "Well fuck my Natural Order plan, that will have to wait. Now I have to go find that Hand, kill him, then obtain the power of a god!"

* * *

"And then he just took off. Now we don't know where he or Deathborn is." Link sighed, finished explaining what occurred to the others over the radio.

"Oh, Goddesses damn him! First, he sneaks out, now this!" Zelda said in frustration.

"Doesn't he get that we're want to help?" Luigi asked.

"Do you think he doesn't trust us?" Bayonetta questioned. Lucario snarled at that question and grabbed a radio.

"No!" He shouted, startling everyone in the conversation. "Do not question Snake's trust in all of you. He sees all of you as friends, and he would die for any of you."

There was a strong amount of conviction in the Pokémon's voice. If there was anyone who knew his friend Snake, it was him. He calmed himself down before speaking again.

"I understand your concerns, and I agree with many of them. It would be better if Snake stayed with us. But this is just his nature; It's how he is. For a long time, things like friends, companions, were foreign to him. But over time he began to know these things, and began to cherish them. Though he often acts aloof and will never admit it, Snake treasures his friends. He cares deeply for each of them. Which is why he is acting the way he is now. He does not wish to burden any of his friends with what he perceives to be his own problems, and feels he must solve them himself." Lucario explained.

"Doesn't he know that helping each other through their problems is part of being friends?" Peach said.

Lucario chuckled. "Indeed. It is one of the aspects of friendship he doesn't quite understand yet." He turned to his friends. "Either way, I'm sure he will be fine. He'll have a lot to explain when he gets back. But for now, we should do what he said and search this base."

* * *

 **c'mon! You didn't think that shrapnel was for show did you?**


	17. A Shaky Truce

**Sorry for such the long wait between updates. But any of you who are familiar with going to college, you might know that time is sort of a commodity. But to make up for it, here's a big one.**

* * *

It was very late at night. How late it was Snake had no clue for he had no watch. All he knew was that his body was begging for some rest. He carried on a little bit longer before obliging. Deathborn was missing an arm and even a cyborg has physical limitations. He can't keep running forever, so Snake thought a little rest wouldn't hurt. Deathborn wasn't going to get very far anyway.

Snake sat down and leaned up against a nearby rock. He had thought about what had happened to him over the past day. His blinding rage that seemingly came out of nowhere, his assault on Deathborn, and his assault on his own friends. That last one hurt to think about. Hurting the people he fights so very hard to protect. It angered him, making him pounce his fist to the ground. They tried to assure him that it was all right. How it wasn't his fault, how it wasn't the real him that attacked them. And from a rational standpoint they were correct. But Snake didn't care, to him it was his fault. He began to wonder why as of late, he was so incredibly concerned about the well-being of his friends. Sure he had his fair share of friends while he was in Smash, but he still tried to keep him at a distance. Yes he cared about them, but not this much.

Maybe it was the Catastrophe. The cliché of "you don't know how important something is until it's gone."; As cheesy as he thought it was, it was true. After the Catastrophe, he woke up and his friends were gone. And for seven years he wandered alone. He had given up on the chance of any of them being alive. He remembered how thrilled he was to know that Peach was still alive. How he took a chance and infiltrated a slave camp with armed guards to rescue her. And not long afterwards, being reunited with Link and Zelda. He guessed that what it all boiled down too was…

 _I won't lose them again._

Off the topic of Snake's friends, there was the voices. The hallucinations. That was still occurring, and it didn't look like it was going away anytime soon. Many people he met from his past, both living and dead, would speak to him. He wasn't really freaked out by them though. He'd seen what Psycho Mantis and Screaming Mantis could do. This was nothing to him.

"Snake?" a female voice to his left spoke. He turned and looked at her.

"Mei Ling." He acknowledged her. The young woman he met during the Shadow Moses Operation. A genius at such a young age that invented his codec and Soliton Radar.

"I'd like to ask you something." She requested.

"Go ahead."

"You're very adamant about finding Crazy Hand. Why is that?"

"I've got questions, and he probably has answers." Snake said simply.

"Right. But what exactly do you plan on asking him?"

Things went silent for a good while. Though he didn't visibly show it, the question had taken him off guard. It was something he hadn't given that much thought.

"Snake?" Mei Ling spoke out to him after he didn't answer.

"I don't know." He replied.

"Huh?"

"Maybe when I find him, then I'll know what to ask."

"Okay. I understand." She affirmed. There was something else he was thinking about, and this hallucination of Snake's could tell. "Is there anything else bothering you."

Snake couldn't help but chuckle. Of course, she knew there was something wrong. All of these "people" that keep showing up know, because they're projections coming from his mind. Regardless he humored these questions they asked even if they knew the answer. One arguably good thing about hearing voices and seeing people that aren't actually there was that it allowed him to get things off his chest, as the feeling of someone being around was present. He was used to just being alone. Any problems he had would just have to be bottled up in his mind and not talked about.

"It's about Deathborn." He said. Suddenly Miller showed up.

"Why's that bothering you. You've got the guy on the run, and he's not going to get away from you." Miller pointed out.

"I'm aware of that, but that's part of the problem." Snake replied, confusing his hallucinations. "It's just that it was so…easy to do. For months I had been making preparations. Yes we were living in a time of peace with the Committee gone, but life taught me that it never stays that way for long. Another conflict, another enemy will always be right around the corner. And I was ready to meet that problem half-way. I prepared for the worse, took action even though there wasn't anything to suggest a hostile force was approaching anytime soon. I had the Chaos Emeralds destroyed so that no one would be able to collect them and use their power. I traveled alone for weeks, destroying anything I felt would be a possible threat. I searched blindly for an enemy force and found nothing." Snake rambled.

"Well, Deathborn eventually showed up, didn't he?" Mei Ling said.

"Yes but now it's practically over. The first time I encounter him and I rip his damn arm off and send him on the run. I just need to find him and then it'll be over. I was expecting something or someone…I don't know…a bit more threatening I guess."

" _Maybe he's not the threat. Maybe he's just somebody that was in the way, and the real threat is still to come._ " Snake thought.

"Well that's enough of me rambling. Now go away so I can get some sleep." He ordered and the illusions disappeared.

* * *

Link, Fox, Lucina and Lucario infiltrated Deathborn's Mute City base and practically took it over. They were met with little resistance that they easily dispatched. All of the non-combat personnel surrendered without a fight, willing to answer any questions asked of them. Lucario grabbed a scientist by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up.

"Where's the boy?!" He growled, raising his aura infused fist as a threat.

"He's in the holding cells!"

Lucario dragged the scientist with him. Upon finding Lucas in his cell, he was laying on the ground, looking as still as a stone. Lucario almost feared the worse, but he remained calm and closed his eyes, focusing his senses, clearing his mind. And then he felt it. A faint, but existent, pulse of aura.

 _He's still alive!_

Lucario released the scientists and ripped the cell door off, not bothering with a key.

"I'm here, Lucas." Lucario whispered as he picked the boy up into his arms, even though he knew he couldn't hear him. Lucario turned back to the scientist. "What did you do to him?"

"Me? I didn't want this! Deathborn did!" The scientist claimed.

"Just tell me what happened!"

"Deathborn had us hook the kid up to a machine in the lab that drained his energy and transfer it into himself so that he could gain the boy's PSI abilities. He's not dead, but he'll be unconscious for a long time. A few months at least."

"Why didn't he just drain Lucas dry? Why would he leave Lucas alive?" Lucario wondered.

"He didn't intend to. We stopped the draining process while he was away." The scientist answered. Lucario's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? Why?"

"I mean…the others and I just couldn't watch it any more. Watching the kid have the life drained out of him was fucked up." He sheepishly admitted. Lucario snarled.

"If you don't like being involved in such abhorrent crimes, then why are you even working for this madman?!" Lucario questioned with an intimidating glare.

"It's because they didn't really have a choice." Link spoke up as he entered the room with Fox and Lucina. Lucario looked back at him with a puzzled expression.

"Turns out most of the people here are just a bunch of punch-clock villains, and they sure weren't working for Deathborn for the job benefits." Fox explained.

"They were taken here against their will, coerced into working for him. He threatened some of them with their life, and for those who would rather die, he threatened them with the lives of their families." Lucina elaborated.

"They were more than happy to give up the information we needed. They told us the exact location of the other two bases. One in the ruins of New Pork City, the other in your home; the Sinnoh region." Link revealed.

"Sinnoh? It's been awhile since I've heard that name, and almost a decade since I've been there." Lucario recollected memories of his home region.

"We should get going. We have what we need." Link said.

"Wait! What about the rest of us?" The scientist asked. Link smiled and looked at him.

"You do what you want from here. Consider this as getting your freedom back. Tell the others, and don't waste this opportunity."

The scientist smiled for the first time in years. "Oh thank you! Thank you!"

"And don't worry, we'll make sure that Deathborn won't follow you." Link promised. "Now let's get going."

As they made their way out, Fox pried Lucario for a question.

"Hey Lucario."

"What?"

"Before we came here, you blew up Deathborn's arm that Snake ripped off with an aura sphere. Can I ask why?"

"Because I don't want a single scrap of him remaining when Snake kills him."

* * *

In the morning of the next day, Deathborn continued moving, all the while cautious of being found as he covered his tracks. He had gotten this far, so he believed he had successfully escaped from Snake or any of the others. Unlucky for him, he was wrong.

"Freeze!" Snake ordered with a FAMAS assault rifle aimed at Deathborn.

"Oh, god dammit!" Deathborn cursed in frustration.

"Put that hand of yours above your head and turn around slowly!"

Deathborn did as ordered. "I must say, I admire your persistence. Chasing me down all the way here. I also hate it. You can't just stay away from me and throw a wrench in my plans." He said. "And where did you get that rifle? I didn't see that when we were fighting."

"You think I would just carry around something like this for the everyone to see? I know how to dismantle and gun and put it back together, so I carry the pieces." Snake replied.

"Interesting. But back on topic, what are you going to do now that you've found me? Are you going to try and kill me? Go ahead, I'll find a way to come back eventually." He laughed.

"No, I'm not going to kill you...yet." Snake said, earning a confused look from Deathborn. "I've got questions for you, and you're going to give them to me."

"And why would I do that? There's nothing you can do to make me talk."

Snake pulled out his combat knife, with Deathborn cackling at the sight of the small weapon. "Oh, is that it? You're going to torture me with a knife? Oh, please spare me!" He mocked, knowing that a mere knife would only hurt as much as a mosquito bite because of his augmentations. But Snake smirked regardless.

"You don't seem to be in too much pain for having your arm ripped off. You must have a really good pain receptor installed in that body of yours."

"Only the best."

"I wonder what happens when if I turn it off." Snake cryptically said, confusing Deathborn. He pressed a button on his knife and electricity started to emit from the blade. It wasn't just a knife, it was a stun knife, capable of sending jolts of electricity in someone's body.

"Joke's on you, I don't have pain receptors."

"Oh, yes you do."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I've had plenty of experiences with cyborgs. I know how they work."

All Deathborn could do was growl. It appeared that Snake called his bluff. And he sure as hell didn't want his pain receptors to get fried.

"All right! What do you want to know?"

"The Mark? What is it?! I heard you say something about it!" Snake demanded.

"You mean Crazy Hand's Mark?" Deathborn asked for clarity. Snake's eyes widened.

"Crazy Hand? How do you know anything about Crazy Hand?"

Deathborn laughed. "You didn't think you were the only ones looking for any information about where he is, did you?"

"Whatever! Just explain!"

"In one of the pages I found, he wrote about this shard that amplifies ones' abilities. He called it 'The Mark'. He said he would only grant it to a person he deemed trustworthy to protect the world after the Catastrophe. It seems that somebody was you."

Snake was needless to say surprised by that answer. Of all the fighters, Crazy Hand chose him to be the Wasteland's Champion?

"So what? Do I have super powers now?" he asked in a condescending tone.

"I don't think so, but I'm sure you're a bit stronger, faster, and durable than you use to be. Not to mention you've become an even more persistent son of a bitch. Like a cockroach that just refuses to die." Deathborn said in annoyance. "So congratulations, you're the Wasteland's hero!"

Snake further questioned him. "What about when you hit the Mark? Why did it make me act the way I did?"

"Crazy Hand said that the Mark could trigger a burst of power, turn a person into a one-man army. Though it has some…side-effects from the looks of it."

Snake thought about this power. It turned him into an unstoppable force. If he were to use it, he'd probably be able to eliminate any future threat to the Wasteland. But it would cost him his sanity, turn him into a berserk animal that attacked anyone around him. He almost killed Fox the first time, but if were to happen again, he might not be so lucky.

 _It's true, I can use that power to eliminate threats, but there's a strong possibility that I could become that threat! No. It's not worth the risk._

"Then why did you hit it when we fought?"

"He never wrote down how to trigger it. You think I would trigger it if I knew it would?"

"How does this shard of shrapnel give me power?"

Deathborn cackled. "You really think that's just a piece of shrapnel? No idiot, it's a piece of a Smash Ball."

Snake was dumbfounded by this revelation. "But why? It's the same source of power that caused the Catastrophe! And why did he shove it into my head?!"

"Sorry but you'll have to ask the Hand yourself…which is something I can help you with." Deathborn smirked.

"And how is that?"

"I know where he is." The villain claimed.

Snake was shocked, but he quickly had a scowl on his face. "Liar!" He shouted and brought the barrel of the gun closer to Deathborn.

"Am I? Am I really?"

Snake growled, frustrated. What was he supposed to do? He didn't have any clue on where Crazy Hand could be. He could be bullshitting him, but right now Deathborn could be the only lead he's got.

"Where is he?" Snake asked. "And don't bullshit me! Because wherever you say he is, you're coming with me to check!"

"He wrote in one of his notes that he would be hiding in an old abandoned facility, long forgotten by history, hidden by snow. And I think I know where he's talking about."

"No…" Snake muttered

"Shadow Moses Island." They said in unison. Snake couldn't believe it.

"How?! I used that place for shelter for years and there wasn't a trace of him!"

"You know the place better than I do, Snake. I've heard you could hide some big machines in that place. Crazy Hand is a large being. Where do you think he would hide in there?"

"Shit...the Metal Gear hangar." Snake muttered. "Already, get your ass up! We're moving out! And you're leading the way."

" _You're really going to travel with him?"_ the voice of Otacon asked.

" _Yes, but I'm not going to drop my guard around him. I know he might try something sooner or later. I'll be ready for it."_

" _If you say so."_

With that, Snake and Deathborn began their trek to Shadow Moses. Deathborn lead the way while Snake followed, ready to retaliate if Deathborn tried anything funny.

"So out of curiosity, if you knew where Crazy Hand is, why did you choose now to look for him?" Snake asked.

"I planned on finding him once I got my plan underway. I'd tell him his world had finally returned to its natural state and then kill him. But after being defeated by you, I realized I am not strong enough for my ideal world. Before the Natural Order takes place, I need to be the most powerful being in the land! So I decided to find him and take his power and make it mine." He chuckled.

Snake shook his head. "You don't seem to realize that's your weakness."

"Excuse me?"

"Your power is not your own. Instead of working on your own abilities and improving them, you rely on your augmentations and the power you've taken from others. Even some of your techniques are not your own, they're stolen from other fighters."

"Hmph! Call it a weakness if you want, but it gets the job done for me."

Snake scoffed. "And you think of yourself as being an honorable warrior."

"You think I give a damn about what you think about my methods?"

"Just shut up and keep moving" Snake ordered.

* * *

Cloud Strife, the always troubled swordsman wandered the Wasteland. He had no destination, no plans, no idea of what he was even doing. Ever since he came across Snake and they spoke, what the mercenary said shook him to the core. Because it was true. If Cloud really didn't think there was nothing life could offer him, why hadn't he just offed himself years ago? He spent days trying to figure out the answer to that himself. He had believed since the Catastrophe that he had lost everything. Tifa, Marlene, along with his other good friends were gone. And yet he still kept going.

Now he sat here, in this baron desert under the light of the moon, wondering about his future. Maybe there was something for him to still live for, he just didn't know it yet. He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard screams. Screams of a woman and a child. He got up and went to investigate.

He soon found the source. A man, along with his wife and child were surrounded by a group of bandits. Five in total. The man had been beaten to the ground. Normally he avoided situations such as this since they didn't involve him, but this time it was different. He started walking towards the bandits.

"Please! Don't do anything to them!" The man pleaded as he struggled to get up.

"Sorry pal, but we don't like to leave any witnesses." The leader glared at the wife and child.

"You son of a bitch!"

As the leader readied to kill him, he heard the sound of something getting cut behind him. He turned around to see two of his men butchered, cut in half by Cloud's Buster sword. The other two grunts went to draw their guns, but Cloud quickly cut them down. The leader didn't seem to be afraid of Cloud though.

"You know if you wanted a share of what we'll steal from these folks you could've just asked." He said nonchalantly. Cloud just glared at him. The bandit took another glance at him and showed a sinister smirk. "Oh, I see! You must be one of those wasteland vigilante types that people keep talking about. I hear that most of you are really tough. You're probably thinking that you're just gonna kill me quickly, like I'm some sort of jobber."

"Enough talk!" Cloud said and dashed towards the opponent, starting with and hoping to finish this encounter with a single vertical slice. Surprisingly the bandit pulled out a sword of his own and blocked the attack. He chuckled at a rather shocked Cloud.

"You really thought it was going to be that easy?"

The bandit pushed Cloud back and swung his sword horizontally. Cloud blocked it and blocked another attack that followed. The bandit crouched down and leg-sweeped Cloud, putting him on his back. Cloud rolled sideways, avoiding his opponent's sword being plunged into his chest. He kicked the bandit in the gut, giving Cloud time to roll back and get some distance.

"You're no ordinary bandit, are you?" Cloud hypothetically asked.

"Of course not! We did fight in the same tournament after all." He replied.

Cloud's eyes widened at that statement. "Excuse me?"

"I was just one of the many Mii Swordfighters. There was a lot of us and we didn't really have any distinguishing features that made us stand out, so it's no surprise you don't recognize me."

"You got a name?"

"My name is irrelevant. You've got nothing to gain from knowing it."

"Fine then!"

The two rushed towards each other and clashed blades. Their battle went back and forth, neither man managing to get the upper-hand for quite some time. But Cloud eventually gained momentum, and overwhelmed the Mii fighter with a barrage of attacks the ended with him impaling the fighter with his sword.

"It's over for you."

Cloud readied to pull his sword out of the man, but the fighter held a grip on it, as if telling Cloud to stop.

"Wait!" The fighter said, coughing up a bit of blood as well. "Before I clock out, tell me something. You never were the type of guy that went out of his way to save random civvies. So why the change of heart?"

It was a good question; good enough that Cloud had to think about it himself. He actual wasn't quite sure what caused him to step in when he had ignored many robberies in the past.

"Because it better than doing nothing I suppose." Cloud concluded and ripped his sword out, causing him to begin bleeding out at a rate that would leave him dead within a minute.

The man and his family walked over to Cloud, wishing to express their gratitude.

"Sir! Thank you so much for saving me and my family." The man said. Cloud sheathed his sword, crossed his arms, and turned the other way.

"You were lucky this time." He responded. "Next time there might not be someone to save you. You need to able to protect yourself, protect your loved ones. Remember that." He said coldly and walked off.

He would never admit it, but something about stopping that robbery felt good.

* * *

Deacon stood atop his mountain, looking down and observing what was happening below. Not in the literal sense.

"Yes. Good for you Cloud. You might just find a new purpose after all." He chuckled, knowing what just happened with Cloud.

The truth of Deacon's "omnipotence" was that he wasn't actually omnipotent. He knew what went on in the wasteland using his unique ability. It was similar to Lucario's ability to sense aura, except for Deacon it was sensing one's energy, their life force. And unlike Lucario, the range of his senses was on a much larger scale. He could tell a lot about a person based on their energy, aside from just where they where located.

"Time to see what the loner is up to."

"Hey, Deacon?" A man called out behind him. Deacon turned around to see it was Alex, along with Peach and Bayonetta.

"Hello. I didn't notice you three were coming. How can I help you?" he asked.

"I guess you could say we need your valuable ability to know what's going on in the wasteland to help us find a friend." Bayonetta said.

"You mean Snake?"

"Exactly."

"Funny. I was just about to check on him myself."

"Do we have to fight you for this information?" Peach groaned, hoping that wouldn't be the case.

"No. I don't think something as simple as what Snake is doing is information worthy of a duel."

Peach sighed with relief. "Really?! Oh, that's great! So, what's he doing?"

"Right now, he's traveling with Deathborn, who apparently knows the location of Crazy Hand. So, Snake's forcing him to take him there."

The three of them were surprised.

"Wow! That's big news! So, where are they?" Bayonetta asked.

"I can't tell you that." Deacon said bluntly.

"What?! Why not?!" She demanded to know in an almost angry tone of voice.

"Because he doesn't want any of you following him. So out of respect for him and his wishes, I cannot just give you that information."

"Dammit Snake, why do you gotta be so hard headed?" Alex sighed, voicing the thoughts of most of Snake's friends.

"I understand your frustration and even anger towards him, but you must know he means no ill will towards any of you. This is just something he needs to do on his own." Deacon explained.

"But why? Why does he need to do it alone?" Peach pleaded for an answer.

Deacon sighed. It wasn't enough. He needed to explain it in a way to try and make them imagine themselves in Snake's shoes.

"Were any of you at ground zero? Did you see what happened?"

Bayonetta scoffed. "What does that have to do with-"

"WERE ANY OF YOU THERE?!" Deacon asked again in an uncharacteristically aggressive tone of voice, one that startled the three of them enough to make them take a step back.

"N-no." Peach sheepishly answered.

"Right. Well as you all know, he was there. He even got something lodged in his head to prove it. He was there before the explosion, he saw many people he knew, some he considered friends, fight each other to the death in a petty, destructive battle to try prove who was the strongest."

"We already know this, what's your point?" Bayo asked.

Deacon was silent for a bit. "Have any of you ever asked him if he still thinks about it? During the day? During the night? If he sees it again in his nightmares?"

They couldn't respond. They felt so uncomfortable, so guilty just by thinking of that possibility.

"Cause I'll tell you the answer! He does. He may never show any signs of it, but the man's always been good at keeping his emotions from others. Really strong emotional body armor that man has. But I can read his energy, and every time I do I see a man who even seven years later, still thinks about that day. He loses sleep over it. And every time he looks back on that day he always wonders the same thing…why? How? He has so many questions, and there's only one being who can give him the answers." Deacon sadly explained. "Trust him. He NEEDS this. So he can finally put the past behind him."

Peach frowned and looked up to the stars.

 _Snake...please be careful._

* * *

Even when the night's sky was at its darkest, Snake kept moving with Deathborn.

"You sure you don't need to sit down, take a break? Maybe get some sleep?" Deathborn gave him mock concern.

"Shut up and keep moving." He snapped back, not in the mood for any jokes or quips of any kind. Suddenly, the voices came back to question him.

"So how do you plan on dealing with him?" Otacon's voice asked.

"Oh, you're all still here." Snake replied internally. He wasn't going to talk back to these voices aloud in front of Deathborn. "What do you mean by that?"

"Please, don't tell me you're going to let this guy go when he gets you to Shadow Moses."

"Who do you take me for? Of course I'm not!"

"Have you been thinking on how you're going to eliminate him?" Mei Ling's voice asked.

"Of course, and he's definitely thinking of a way to kill me."

"Him kill you? Please, he's missing an arm." Mei Ling scoffed.

"Never underestimate your enemies. No matter what condition they are in, that doesn't make them any less of a threat. Only death makes sure he's no longer a threat."

"So did you've come up with anything?" Otacon asked.

"I've got something in mind, but it might be a bit of a stretch. I don't know the current state the rooms in Shadow Moses are. Judging by the second time I visited there, everything was pretty much abandoned and inoperable. But if Crazy Hand really did make some sort of base of operations down there, maybe he fixed the place up."

"What does the condition of Shadow Moses have to do with killing Deathborn?"

"If I told you, that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it? Besides, you're in my mind, you should know the answer."

"Why don't you just shoot him in the head once you get to Shadow Moses?" the voice of Meryl joined.

"If only it were that simple. Deathborn's been killed three times already, but every time someone, or something retrieves what's left of his body and reconstructs him. The only to truly kill him is to completely destroy him, leaving no piece of him behind." Snake explained.

"Alright. So, once you destroy him and once you get the answers you want, what will you do afterwards?" Mei Ling asked.

Snake took a moment to think. "I'll join back up with the gang, get chewed out like I deserve, and then keep fighting the way I've always have."

The voice of Big Boss began speaking to Snake. "Fighting, fighting, fighting…" He shook his head. "Snake, don't you remember the request I made to you before I died in Arlington Cemetery?"

Snake remembered. Big Boss told him not to spend the life he had left fighting. "Yes, I remember Boss. But that was when I had six months left to live. Then I came back to this world to say my goodbyes, and Master Hand made me some miracle medicine that got rid of the accelerated aging modification in my body, along with restoring my body's health to that of a 42-year-old instead of a man in his seventies. He told me it was a way of thanking me for my help during the Subspace Incident, and for giving the world a good show during the third tournament." Snake recalled. Words couldn't describe how grateful he was towards Master Hand that day, and how grateful he is even to this day. "Even then, I gave up fighting. I did try to live like a normal person while the fourth tournament was going on. Then the Catastrophe happened."

The other voices went quiet for a bit. Mei Ling spoke up.

"Well, things are much better than they were a few months ago, you and your friends made sure of that. Have you ever thought of settling down?"

"Settling down? Like what? With another person?"

"That's the idea, yeah. Maybe you could settle down with a fellow fighter, that way you two can protect people when the time comes. You could be a battle couple!" She giggled, earning a growl of irritation from Snake.

"I'm a man in my early fifties with gray hair and scars all over. I don't think any ladies will be swooning over me."

"Aw come on Snake, it's not what's on the outside that counts. Besides, what about Peach? She seems to be pretty fond of you." Mei Ling giggled.

Snake's eyes widened as he gawked at the statement.

"Snake? Did your cheeks just turn red?" Otacon asked.

"Okay! This conversation is over!"


	18. Shadow Moses

Link, Lucina, Lucario and Fox were traveling back home, not being far away. They had Lucas in tow, safe with them. All was well, but there was still a feeling of unrest amongst one of the group. Lucario sensed out the source of these negative emotions, and called him out.

"Link. What is it that troubles you?" The Pokémon asked. Link was startled, and the other two turned to them with curiosity.

Link wanted to tell him that there was nothing wrong. Nothing was wrong so stop worrying about it. But he knew better. That would just make whatever aura Lucario was sensing grow stronger. Because he would be lying to him.

"I don't know about you guys; but I feel like we've been relying on Snake too much and as a result our combat skills have suffered." Link said. "I'm not sure how you feel, but I don't think we could've beaten Deadborn. He crushed me and Fox with little effort." He stated, looking at his broken arm.

"Maybe it's because we fought him alone! Maybe if we teamed up on him things would've been different!" Lucina argued.

"No. If anything, things would have been worse." Lucario corrected. "Deathborn excels when he's up against multiple opponents. Many of his augmentations are designed for multi-man combat. Not to mention we would all be worried about each other, hampering our focus. He would surely take advantage of that."

"I thought so." Link sighed. "If Snake hadn't shown up Deathborn would've killed us. But then when Snake went berserk and started attacking us, we couldn't subdue him. We almost had to resort to killing him."

"Indeed. It was lucky for us that he snapped out of it just in time. I was mere seconds away from launching a lethal Aura Sphere at him. But luck doesn't last forever." Said the Pokémon.

"So, what do you suggest Link?" Lucina asked.

"I don't know about you three, but I'm gonna start training my ass off. I need to get back into my prime if I want to protect the world."

Lucina and Fox looked to each other and smiled.

"All right, I'm with you." Fox said.

"Me too!" Lucina cheered.

Lucario grunted. "Do what you wish. Just remember that strength isn't always in the form of combat prowess."

With that, they continued forward.

* * *

"We're here." Snake said, looking at the 'Nuclear Disposal Site' surrounded by snow. This had been the third time he stepped foot in this area. First there was the Shadow Moses Incident, the next was to retrieve Metal Gear REX's railgun during Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, and now it was to find Crazy Hand.

"This must bring back some memories." Deathborn chuckled.

"Plenty. I don't care to talk about them."

"Oh, but I'm sure there are some great memories. Anyone who's read about your mission here knows how many dangerous situations you found yourself in, and how you managed to escape each one of them. That's your favorite activity, isn't it? Staring Death in the face and escaping from him every time?"

"Well I'm certainly better than you at it." Snake snarked, earning a growl from Deathborn.

"Now that I've brought you here, what will you do? Will you gun me down? Have I outlived my usefulness?" Deathborn questioned.

"No. I still have use for you. Just because we've made it, doesn't mean Crazy Hand is here for certain. Who knows? If it turns out you didn't lie, I might even let you go." Snake offered though that in of itself was a blatant lie.

"Very funny, but you and I both know that only one of us is going to see the Hand."

"That sounds like a threat. So, you must think he's here. So why haven't you tried to kill me?"

"Because neither of us knows what could be in there. There may be hostiles camped in there. And as much as it would pain me to do so, we might have to work together to combat them. I'm handicapped with a missing arm, and I'm sure your senses aren't sharp, given you haven't slept for several days. But together we'll have a chance."

Snake couldn't argue with that. Sleep deprivation was certainly starting to take its toll on him. As they moved towards the entrance to the Tank Hanger, Snake noticed a peculiar piece of fabric amongst the snow-covered ground. Reaching down, he picked it up and examined it. He smiled. It was an old navy-blue bandana, embroidered with the infinity symbol. He wrapped it around his head, replacing his worn-out bandana.

 _Infinite ammo._

The two entered the Tank Hanger. Snake had his SOCOM pistol at the ready along with his CQC knife in his left hand, while Deathborn had his arm cannon primed and ready. They examined the room, searching for any hostiles.

"I'm not picking up anything on my scanners." Deathborn said.

"I don't care, stay sharp!" Snake ordered. _Relying on technology. What a fool!_

A small sound went off in the distance, causing Snake's ears to prick up and his suspicion to rise.

"Did you hear that?" Snake asked.

"Hear what?" Deathborn replied.

"Just listen."

Another sound. 'Ding!'

"Dammit! Looks like we've got company coming from the elevator!" Snake alerted.

"Well, I'll give them a nice surprise when they come out." Deathborn stated, charging his arm cannon. The doors opened up, and Deathborn shot without hesitation. To both of their surprise, one of the occupants activated a deflector similar to what the Star Fox team uses, sending the blast right back at them. They moved out of the way and saw the blast put a burning crater in the wall behind them. Snake took cover behind one of the cargo boxes, and took a peek at what they were up against.

"We've got six Miis with Arm Cannons." He analyzed. They showed to be incredible agile as well, a few took a huge leap up to the railings above them. They would have to coordinate if they wanted to survive this. Deathborn only has one arm while Snake's usually sharp senses had been dulled down due to a lack of sleep. "There's one on the upper left, he'll probably try to flank us." Snake called out. Deathborn looked over there and saw the Mii on the railings above them moving in on their location. He fired at Deathborn, but the cyborg tanked the shots, and fired a blast that blew the Mii's head clean off.

"That's one down!"

Snake began returning fire at the Miis attacking, hiding behind cover to avoid incoming blasts. His aim wasn't as sharp as it usually is due to his lack of sleep, but he would just need to work through it.

"Show us that you're the true bearer of the Mark!" one of the Mii soldiers shouted. Snake ran out of cover to move to another spot, firing his pistol at the enemy along the way. Sure enough, some of his shots made contact with an enemy, killing one of the Miis. He rolled behind one of the tanks in the hanger for cover.

"So, they know about the Mark too?" Snake muttered to himself. As the fight continued, thoughts began to go through Snake's mind. Here he was, in a firefight at Shadow Moses, tired as hell, and he was fighting alongside someone that could shoot him in the back at any given moment. There was a chance he could die here. And if he did, could anyone say what he died for was worth it? Instead of going out fighting for the sake of others, he was fighting for the sake of answers. Was learning about what really happened in the events leading up to the Catastrophe really worthy sticking his neck out like this. Yes, the old world they knew was gone, but his friends didn't seem to worry about why it happened. They just moved on, and were content to not know all the details. Should he do the same?

A Mii landed in front of him and attempted to strike him. Snake parried the attack and thrust his knife into the Mii's throat, eliminating him. Another Mii fired off a small plasma blast that nicked Snake in the shoulder. Deathborn tackled the attacker shortly afterward while Snake hid to cover.

No. He couldn't move on. He already had come so far. He had saw it happen. The Catastrophe, all of it right in front of him. And he survived it, no doubt due to Crazy Hands intervention. And even afterwards, many have died. People he considered friends at one point had somewhere went dark, and he had to be the one to kill them. Then there was the Committee. He may have only known one of the four members personally, but what he knew without a doubt was that they were all once good people, young men who had their whole lives ahead of him. And it was him, an old killer who should have died long ago, that had to snuff the life out of them. He needed to know why. Why did Crazy Hand choose him to be a designated survivor? Why had he been hiding all this time? All these questions had yet to be answered. It was time for that to change.

Another one of the Miis almost snuck up behind him, before getting hit with a swift elbow strike by Snake. A CQC slam followed by a bullet to the head quickly put the Mii out for the count. From what he could tell there were only two left. He turned to see one charging at him with a sword in hand, but got blown away by a missile launched by Deathborn.

"Nice to see that you've got my six." Snake jokingly remarked.

"Don't get it twisted. If anybody is going to have the privilege of killing you, it's going to be me!" Deathborn chuckled.

"That doesn't sound like the most cliché thing in the world."

The two of them discovered the last Mii, but were surprised to see she had laid down her weapons. "I yield. It is clear that I am no match for either of you." she said.

"Why did your team attack us?" Snake questioned.

"We're security here. We are to attack non-personnel."

"And who exactly do you work for?"

"I think you already know the answer to that." She replied. And she was right, he did know. He was just hoping he could get it straight from someone's mouth. "May you find the answers you seek, Marked One."

Deathborn quickly stepped forward and finished her with a point-blank blast to the head. "Enough standing around. Let's get moving!" He ordered.

They continued forward, meeting no resistance along the way. And now they were traversing through a large field of snow, with a raging blizzard. It was the same Snowfield he had his second and final sniper dual with Sniper Wolf. It seemed no matter how much time passed, a blizzard was always going on in this area. Reminiscing aside, Snake had something more important on his mind. In the building ahead of them was the blast furnace. Inside there was a vat of molten metal. If you fell in you would quickly melt until you were reduced to nothing. This was how he planned to kill Deathborn for good, by making sure there wasn't a piece of him remaining.

"Power Restored. Regeneration process is now ready." The computer system that monitored Deathborn's cybernetic body announced.

"Perfect" Deathborn smirked behind his mask. Snake turned around as Deathborn roared loudly. What remained of his torn arm began to reconstruct itself. Before he knew it, Deathborn's new arm was complete. "Good! Now I'm at 100 percent again! And what perfect timing!"

"So. This is where the truce ends. Just one spot away from where I planned it."

"Snake. You and I both know only one of us will be able to visit the Hand. There's no doubt he's close by, so it's time for us to decide who gets to move forward!" He declared. "Now let's have a rematch. A fight to the death!" He said and readied his stance for battle. Snake readied himself as well, but shortly after went at ease. "What are you doing?"

"This is amusing. That you think there's going to be a rematch when I've already got you beat." Snake stated.

"Excuse me?!"

Snake took out some sort of grenade from his pocket. He pulled the pin and lobbed it forward. Deathborn was confused. The grenade hadn't landed even close to him.

"It's a chaff grenade." Snake spoke up.

"What's that?" The grenade exploded and several small particles spread out from the explosion. Suddenly Deathborn's body began to seize up, all of his systems were failing. "Wha-I…I can't move!" Deathborn panicked.

"It's basically an EMP. It shuts down all technology in the area. Like your body." Snake explained. He showed a sly grin looking at Deathborn in his current state. "Look at you. You were always so proud of that mechanical body of yours. But you never realized that it's actually your biggest weakness."

"How so?!"

"You rely too much on the technology and power provided to you by that body. Tell me, if your power comes from a mechanical body manufactured in a lab, is it even your own power to begin with?" Snake questioned. "Judging by your current condition, the answer is no. "Without the functions that body provides, you are nothing. You can't even move. Your reliance on it has made you a slave to technology. And that is your weakness."

Snake pulled out his knife and plunged it into the paralyzed Deathborn's chest, making him cry out in pain. "That's right. Those pain receptors aren't on. So, this must really hurt!" he taunted. He turned on the stun feature of his stun knife, sending an electric current throughout his body. He withdrew the knife and got behind Deathborn, putting him in a head lock. "You wanted to play God, but you've failed. It all ends here. You will die for the fourth time. But this time, you will not come back."

Snake thrust the knife into Deathborn's throat, and then broke his neck for good measure. The cyborg fell to the ground, his body still and lifeless. But Snake wasn't done with Deathborn just yet. He knew it wasn't over until he finished with the 'cremation'. He grabbed the body by the legs, and began dragging him to the blast furnace room.

* * *

Arriving at the blast furnace, Snake was relieved to see that it was made active again and that there was a full pool of molten metal for him to toss the body in. On the rafters above the pool, Snake lifted Deathborn over his shoulder and tossed him over the railing and into the pool. Within seconds his body was enveloped in the molten metal and incinerated. There was nothing of him left. Deathborn was no more. Snake immediately headed to the Cargo elevator heading down to the hangar where Metal Gear REX was formerly stored. If there was anywhere Crazy Hand was, it would be there. His M4A1 assault rifle was at the ready, just in case there were any hostiles. Also, just in case Crazy himself was hostile. He entered the Hangar and was surprised to see all the rubble and debris from his previous visits were all cleaned up. It was completely different. It was just a large empty room. He started to get the feeling Crazy Hand wasn't here. But then…

" _ **There were many of fighters on our roster. Over fifty during the fourth tournament in fact.**_ " A loud, booming voice said. Snake began checking every direction, looking for the source of the voice. But there was no one. " _ **But you were always unique in my eyes. The Dark Horse of the cast. A human with no special powers, up against all these people and creatures that could only be considered fictional in your world. Yet you fought, and you won very often. Using nothing but your combat training, standard weaponry, and perhaps your most dangerous weapon, your wit, you racked up victories, surprising the other fighters and quickly earning their respect, as well as mine. But now I see what your true power is. Your perseverance, your willpower, your determination to always get the job done. Impossibility is a concept that you don't believe in. You've conquered adversities, helped create a team that has made the wild Wasteland a more peaceful place to live. And now, you've found me.**_ "

A portal appeared before Snake, and something slowly began crawling out of it. A huge mass of white. But then he saw fingers. The one he had been searching for finally came through the portal.

" _ **I believe you deserve some answers.**_ "

It was him. The Left Fist.

"Crazy Hand."


	19. Answers

Snake stood there, staring at the towering Hand deity in front of him. His current feelings were complex to say the least. He was not exactly brimming with joy after finding the long-lost god. He wasn't upset to see him either. He was just, conflicted.

" _ **I see you haven't responded yet. That's understandable. I imagine this must all be very jarring for you."**_

"You have no idea." Snake replied. Jarring was one way to put it. He was standing in front of the being he had been searching for over the course of months, yet once he found him he was at a loss for words. He had so many questions, but he was having trouble asking a single one. So many questions swirling in his mind, he felt like his head was going to burst. Snake tightened his fists and breathed, calming himself down a bit. He'd need to relax if anything was going to happen here.

"Let's get the big ones out of the way. Did you put this in my head?" Snake asked as he pointed to the shrapnel.

" _ **I did."**_

"What is it and why did you put it in me?"

" _ **It's a small shard of a Smash Ball that gives a small power boost to whoever has it. It makes you faster and stronger than you were before among other things, but not to the level of a super human. I ensured your survival and gave it to you to aid you in keeping the peace in the wasteland."**_ The Hand explained.

"You just assumed I would play the role of the peacekeeper of the wasteland?" Snake snarled.

" _ **Yes. Was I wrong?"**_ Crazy Hand challenged.

"Maybe I do that now, but for the first seven years after the Catastrophe I only looked after myself, focusing on survival."

Crazy Hand couldn't help but start laughing, confusing Snake. " _ **Is that right? Maybe that was your intention, but you and I both know that isn't the truth. You were not the true survivalist you believed yourself to be. A survivalist is willing to take any means necessary to keep themselves alive, willing to abandon morality. But you never preyed on the weak and innocent to sustain yourself. You got your supplies from attacking bandits, raiders, gangs, and all the other groups that are a plague to the world.**_ " He reminded Snake. _**"And anytime you came across some good people being attacked or robbed, you could never just walk away. It was something you could have ignored; the safety of those people wasn't your problem. But you stepped in and stopped it regardless."**_

Snake couldn't say anything to dismiss these claims. Likely because you can't disprove something if it's true.

"Okay then. Can you remove it from my head? Because I'm starting to hear voices. I guess after seven years the brain damage is finally kicking in." He requested.

" _ **Of course. You no longer have any need of it anyway.**_ _**Don't worry. Your body has already absorbed all the power from it, so you won't lose it once it's removed."**_

"Wasn't really worried about that, but that's nice I guess…" Snake responded indifferently. Power or no power, he just wanted the damn thing out of his head.

" _ **I should warn you. This is going to hurt. A lot."**_

With a snap of his fingers, Crazy Hand made the shard disintegrate from Snake's head, but true to his word, it was painful. Snake's screamed in agony and put a hand to his forehead.

" _ **It's okay! It's gone!"**_

"Christ! Well at least you didn't lie to me and say it wouldn't hurt." Snake said between heavy breaths. He held a hand against where the shard once was. "So that shard was from a Smash Ball you said?"

" _ **Indeed.**_ "

"So why did you infuse that with me? You know as well as I do that Smash Ball power is what led to the destruction of the world. The power that corrupted several men and women into power-hungry monsters. Did you ever stop to consider that could've happened to me?" Snake inquired.

" _ **Believe me, I was aware of the possible dangers. I ran several simulations, accounting for several different factors. But after several tests, I was sure that you would not succumb to the temptations of power like others before you."**_ Crazy Hand answered.

"What made you so sure?"

" _ **It was the fact that you hate power. You dedicated most of your life to stopping people from abusing power. Whether it was powerful weapons like Metal Gears, or The Patriots who manipulated and controlled your world from the shadows. You knew all too well what the abuse of power looks like."**_

"What are you getting at?" Snake replied impatiently.

" _ **You're a man of strong moral fiber. An unbreakable will. You refuse to submit to anything. When Revolver Ocelot strapped you to that electric torture bed, he offered you a deal. Endure the agonizingly painful torture, or submit to it and give up the life of young Meryl so that the torture would stop. But you didn't give up on that woman. You went through those torture sessions."**_ Crazy Hand recalled. " _ **And then your invasion on Liquid Ocelot's ship,**_ _**Outer Heaven**_ _._ _ **The only way to the GW AI was through the microwave hallway. Your accelerated aging had kicked in at this point. You were a 42 year old man in the body of a 70 year old. There were so many other allies much younger than you that could of gone through that hallway. But you were the first to volunteer, and you stumbled, and eventually crawled through that hallway while it was burning you to a crisp. You could have just submitted, and get the sweet release of death that you were ready for. But through sheer willpower, you made it."**_

"Again, what the hell are you getting at?!"

" _ **What I'm getting at is the key word of the problem. A word that perfectly encapsulates the reason that all those fighters' personalities just changed overnight! And that word is submission!"**_

Snake's eyes widened after hearing Crazy Hand's statement. Could it be that there were more answers for what happened? Answers that could reveal why things happened? "Elaborate." He practically demanded from the Hand.

" _ **The fighters were not corrupted by the Smash Ball's power just by having it. The power could not forcibly corrupt any of them. What it did was impose an influence in the hearts and minds of the fighters. Whether or not they would submit to that influence was up to the fighter. Some resisted the temptation…some did not."**_

"Sounds like a form of vice. Like an addiction to drugs."

" _ **A very good comparison. Power exudes such a strong force of temptation. And once that temptation sinks its claws into a person, they're hooked. The Smash fighters were some of the strongest and noble men and women I've met, but many of them submitted to the temptation of power."**_ Crazy lamented. " _ **And I thought of many of those people as pure of heart, as incorruptible**_."

"In my experience, no one is pure of heart. Many of the fighters were very kind and compassionate people. But there is always some darkness that lies in the hearts of us mortals. The capability to commit evil towards others. A thirst for power just happens to be one of the best ways to bring out that darkness." Snake mused out loud. "We're flawed creatures, but I think that's what makes us unique. A friend of mine once told me that people just aren't complete without a character flaw. And I've always believed that to be true."

" _ **Very interesting."**_ Crazy thought. _**"Well don't sell you and other mortals short. My brother and I may have been gods, but we were not perfect. If we were, none of this would have happened."**_

Snake just nodded. "There's just one more thing I don't understand about the Smash Balls."

" _ **What's that?"**_

"How come this wasn't a problem in the third tournament? That's when they were first introduced, and they went off without a hitch. No one was corrupted. Why?"

" _ **The third tournament's Smash Balls did not give fighters a passive power boost. They were only exposed to its power once they activated their Final Smash. And that would be roughly a few seconds or less. Not enough time for their bodies to crave that power."**_ The Hand answered.

"Good. Now I can finally put that mystery to rest." Snake stated, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. But the questioning was not over yet. "Now for the next topic. Why are you here?"

" _ **Why am I in Shadow Moses?"**_

"No. Why are you hiding? Why aren't you out on the surface, helping the world restore itself?" he confronted Crazy.

Crazy could only sigh sadly. " _ **How could a Hand of Destruction be of any help to a destroyed world**_?" He said. Snake raised an eyebrow at that, signaling for Crazy to further elaborate on that. " _ **There is an important aspect of the world not many people know of. The Balance. The world needs a balance between order and chaos, good and evil, creation and destruction**_." He began. " _ **That's why there was two Hands that oversaw this world. My brother, the Right Fist, was the Hand of Creation. I, the Left Fist, am the Hand of Destruction.**_ "

Snake began to piece things together. "I get it. You and Master had a yin-yang dynamic going on." He guessed.

" _ **Precisely! And if you know anything about the yin-yang philosophy you know that one part can't, or at least should not exist without the other. My powers only allow me to destroy, and we all know that the world has already suffered enough destruction. Without my brother, I will only hurt the world, and cause imbalance.**_ "

Snake folded his arms and shook his head. "You realize there's a great irony here, right?" He replied, confusing Crazy.

" _ **What do you mean**_?"

"Master, the Hand of Creation, is the one that ultimately blew himself up. In his wake, he left the world in state of devastation. And you, the Hand of Destruction, during the days leading up to the Catastrophe, were coming up with different plans to preserve the world. If you can only destroy, then how were you able to create all these safeguards for the apocalypse?"

" _ **Simple. I'm only the mind behind the ideas. I have others make them for me. Like the Miis for example. The only things I made personally were the shard and Deacon.**_ "

"You built Deacon?!" Snake blurted, his mouth agape and eyes widened.

Crazy Hand chuckled a bit. " _ **Oops. Looks like I let that one slip**_." He joked. _**"Yes, Deacon is my creation, my favorite one in fact. I won't bother you with the details because creating him was a long process, so I'll just give you the gist of it.**_ " He stated.

" _ **The Miis and I found him in an abandoned temple. Of course, he wasn't Deacon at that point, but he wasn't a violent Darknut either. He wasn't even a living being, it was just a suit of Darknut armor. We decided to retrieve the armor, as I wanted to figure out something to do with it**_."

"And what did you come up with?" Snake questioned.

" _ **I wanted to create a guardian, a mentor of sorts. Someone who came across as a deity without actually being one. He'd be able to observe the situations that happen in the Wasteland, but not intervene unless it the circumstances are extreme. To give him life, I infused a portion of my own power into him. I also convinced my brother to infuse a bit of his own power into him as well."**_

"So that's how he knows everything that's going on." Snake deduced.

" _ **Not everything. He's not omnipotent if that's what you think? There's a limit to the things he can know of If a big fight is going on, he'll know about it. If there's a lot of folks talking about something, like a vigilante hero that saved them from bandits and then disappeared then he'll hear about it. Anything that happened pre-Catastrophe he'll know about because I had a database with that information installed in him. But this conversation we're having right now, he can hear none of it."**_

"You said he's your favorite creation. Why?"

" _ **Because he's the first thing I've had made that helps people rather than destroys things. He's helped you, he's helped your friends, and I've no doubt he will continue to be of help in the future."**_ There was a tone of pride in Crazy Hand's voice. He truly was proud of what he had made. Snake decided to give him a moment. _**"Forgive me, I believe we derailed from your original question, one I didn't give you a clear answer to. Snake, I've been hiding away from the world because the world is no longer mine. Master and I failed our duty, so now the world belongs to you and the other mortals. I decided to let you dictate the direction the world takes. And I think that was the right decision. You and your friends have done a great job of restoring peace to this chaotic world."**_

That word stung Snake with a pang of guilt. The word 'friends'. "My friends…shit." He muttered, smacking his palm to his face.

" _ **What's wrong?"**_

"I haven't been treating my friends as well as I should. I took off in the middle of the night to go after Deathborn when I was told by everyone to stay at home and get some rest. I completely ignored them and didn't think twice about it."

" _ **Yes, but you saved Link, Fox, Lucina and Lucario when you got there."**_

"I also almost killed them."

" _ **That was something entirely out of your control. Besides, that will never happen again now that the Mark has been removed."**_

"That's good to know. But they'll probably continue to hold me on a pedestal when I get back." Snake said, voice dripping with frustration.

" _ **I don't understand. What do you mean by that?"**_

"They always under value their own importance, while they look at me like I'm a superhero. They seem to think I'm the most important person in the group. It's nonsense! Everyone in the group is of equal importance!" he insisted. "They don't even know what they mean to mean to me…what they've done for me. I wouldn't be who I am without them. I would've stayed the cold, bitter man that I was when I first arrived here. A man who didn't understand the value of friends. A man didn't know how to appreciate everything that life has to offer."

Memories of the past flashed in his mind. The comradery he formed with the fighters aboard the Halberd during the Subspace incident. The times where Peach would insist that he join the others for social activity, and even though he tried to brush her off and get her to go away, she never backed down and had her way in the end. And a time where he found himself reluctantly taking Lucas and Ness to a park, and actually ended up enjoying himself and the time he spent there with the two boys.

Even recent memories came to mind, like all the emotional reunions when he found his friends after seven years. Teaching Peach the basics of CQC and how to handle a gun. His intense sparring sessions with Ryu. Ike inviting him to his home for dinner and so he could meet his sister, Mist.

" _ **It seems that you should let your friends know how much they mean to you.**_ " Crazy Hand concluded. Snake chuckled a bit.

"Yeah. I needed somebody to tell me that. Thanks Crazy." Snake replied, expressing genuine gratitude.

" _ **You're welcome.**_ " Crazy simply said. " _ **It was so good to see you, one last time**_."

Snake's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? One last time?"

" _ **Like I said, there's no reason for me to be around anymore. I only chose to stay alive because I felt that one day someone would find me, and I would tell them what happened. At least one person deserved to know what really happened. Seems fitting it would be you**_." Crazy explained. " _ **And now that you know, I am finally at peace.**_ "

Snake wanted to tell him no, try to convince him to stay. But he seemed so miserable being down here all these years. If he were to return to the surface, it would probably just be a constant reminder of failure to him. Besides, it seemed that his mind was already made up. "I understand. You're not going to go the same way as your brother though, right?"

Crazy laughed. " _ **Don't worry. I'm not going to explode.**_ " He replied. Shortly afterwards, Crazy began to fade away. No words were exchanged, the two had said everything that needed to be said. Finally, Crazy Hand had erased himself from existance. He was gone.

Snake walked over to the spot he just was, his grave so to speak, and saluted for a good 30 seconds as a way of paying his respects. He headed for the exit of the room.

 _Time to go home._

* * *

It had been over a week since Snake had left the Capital. Everyone began to worry, it shouldn't have taken this long for him to defeat Deathborn. Some were starting to fear for the worse. However, a scout on watch saw a man slogging towards their direction through his binoculars. He recognized him immediately.

"Snake! It's Snake! He's coming this way!" He announced to everyone else. The others began rushing outside the entrance, with Peach leading the charge. Snake stood in front of them with an emotionless expression on his face. Not a smile, nor a frown.

"So…did you do it? Did you kill the bastard?" Link asked. Snake nodded his head as confirmation.

Peach walked up to him and slapped him across the face, earning a gasp from all the others. Snake barely reacted to the hit, his expression remained the same. He just took the hit. "So what if you killed him?! You still shouldn't have just got up and disappeared! One of us could have come with you! You had us worried sick you bastard!" Peach shouted with a tear welling up in her eye and went for another slap.

Snake caught her arm, startling her, and pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her in a firm embrace. She along with everyone else was shocked by this. Snake never was the one that started a hug. Peach slowly wrapped her arms around him to return the embrace.

"Snake?" She said, concern in her voice.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"I…It's alright." She replied, flustered by what was going on right now. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked, wondering if there was something causing Snake to behave this way. Had he hurt his head? Was he drunk? Snake couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"Yeah. Never better." He said with a smirk and released Peach. His expression became serious as he looked at the rest of the group, who were all waiting for him to address him. He stepped forward and cleared his throat. "I owe all of you an apology, that much is certain. I'm sorry for my actions. My behavior was out of line."

"It wasn't that big of a deal." Link tried to convince him.

"It was a big deal! Don't try to downplay what I did!" Snake said firmly. "This organization we founded was made on the basis of fairness. That each individual is an equal, no one is above or below each other. The general vote was that I stayed behind and get some rest. I disobeyed, and in doing so, put myself above all of you. I didn't follow orders because of selfish reasons. And for that I'm sorry."

Everyone looked to each other and nodded in agreement. "We forgive you Snake." Zelda said.

"And who knows? If you hadn't shown up, that situation with Deathborn could've turned out much worse." Lucina added.

"Maybe. But that's enough of that. The apology was the easy part. Now I have to get the other part off of my chest." Snake said, earning him puzzled looks from the others.

"I'm sure you all know it's difficult for me to talk about emotions and feelings, so please bear with me." He began. "I know a lot of you look at me with admiration for things I've done in the past. Defeating the Committee was quite an accomplishment, and now the defeat of Deathborn. But please, however highly you think of me, don't think so little of yourselves. I didn't and couldn't have done either of those things alone. You all had something to do with it. Each of you are good people. You're all damn good friends. And truthfully, with all of you, I'd be nothing." He admitted. The others smiled warmly at his little speech. It wasn't the best, but they knew he tried, and that's what they wanted.

"Welcome back Snake." They all replied, finally greeting him.

* * *

 _For seven years, I wondered about the events leading up to that day. The Catastrophe. And I had finally got all the answers I wanted straight from Crazy Hand himself. And it begged the question, how did I feel afterwards. To be honest, I didn't feel any different. All I felt was the realization that nothing had changed. The Catastrophe still happened. The people that died because of it are still dead. I can't go back and change anything. Now I wonder why I was so obsessed with knowing the truth, instead of just moving on. That's what everyone else did. They had the world they knew get ripped apart, and many of them didn't know how. But they picked their heads up, gritted their teeth, and kept moving forward._

 _I've made mistakes, but now I know what my path is. With the help of my friends, we'll work to rebuild the world into a much more peaceful place to live. I'm not so naïve to believe that one day we'll obtain true peace. Evil will always be out there. But when it decides to strike it better be ready, because I damn sure will be…_


	20. Finale

Outside in the training fields, Link, Ike and Lucina were having a hand-to-hand sparring match. Link was insistent that the three sword fighters work on their unarmed combat skills. Observing them was Snake, Lucario and Ryu. All three being experts in this form of combat. They would observe the match to see the three's strengths, weaknesses, and how to improve.

It was becoming clear where the three fighters fell in terms of their style of fighting. Ike was the powerhouse, the heavy hitter. Not surprising, he was the same way when he used his sword.

Lucina was impressively fast and agile. Her speed could make her a difficult target to hit. She may not have the raw power of Ike or Link, but her kicks were incredible swift, with enough force to break a person's arm.

Link fell somewhere in between. He was a jack-of-all-trades. He was strong and quick, but not to an incredible degree. He had a good balance between his speed and power. This was beneficial.

"All right! Time!" Snake ordered, signaling for the three to stop their match. The three stopped, pretty exhausted and breathing heavy breaths. Snake threw the bottles of water for each of them. Once they finally caught their breath. They went to their three instructors for their evaluations. Each one of them paid close attention to one fighter specifically, so they would give the report to the fighter they were assigned to.

"Ike." Lucario began. "Your strength is most impressive. I'm sure that you could take down some of the largest of opponents with a few hits." Ike smiled at the compliment. "However, all the power in the world means nothing if you can't hit your opponents, which I could tell you had trouble with. Also, you will not be able to utilize your full strength with the way you throw your punches. Your attacks are wild and predictable. You attack like a drunken brawler. You need to learn to control yourself so that your attacks come out with finesse." The fighting Pokémon explained.

"Alright. What do I need to do?" Ike asked.

"Work on your jab. A jab is not a strong punch, but it's quick and doesn't leave you wide open. It's a good way to apply pressure. And I recommend you focus on counter hitting. If you block or dodge an opponent's attack that leaves them wide open, you make them pay with your full strength with a counter attack. You understand?" Lucario asked.

"I do! Thank you!" Ike said with respect.

Lucario smiled. "All right, you're dismissed Ike."

With that Ike took his leave. But as he was leaving, Alex caught up to him. It seemed the wrestler wanted a word.

"Hey Ike!" He waved and started walking with Ike.

"Hey Alex. What's up?" Ike wondered.

"I was watching your training session. I'm sure you've been told this a thousand times, but you're a real powerhouse."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot, but I can say the same about you. You're certainly not lacking in the muscle department." Ike replied.

Alex just chuckled at that before continuing. "Anyway, I noticed during the fight that all you were really doing was punching."

"Really? I'm just not much of a kicker I guess. Is that a problem?" Ike asked.

"Not relying on kicks as your main method of offense? No, there's no problem with that. The problem is that you only do punches. It a huge waste of all that power you have. You're not utilizing your strength." Alex explained.

"So what do I do?"

"You should work on grappling!" Alex suggested with excitement.

"Grappling? You mean like wrestling?" Ike questioned.

"Not just wrestling! I'm talking about grabbing people, throwing them like ragdolls, slamming them like basketballs! Overpowering your opponents and making them afraid to get close to you." Alex explained with enthusiasm.

Ike liked the sound of this. "That sounds right up my alley. Care to show me the ropes?"

Alex smiled, happy to have convinced Ike to learn. "You bet I do!"

Back at the training field, Ryu walked up to Lucina. "You're pretty light on your feet. The speed and power of your kicks is very impressive too. Almost reminds me of a strong woman that I know." Ryu complimented.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Your speed and agility are the traits you will need to rely on in battle. You don't have the raw power or durability of someone like Ike. You will need to be extra cautious when you're up against bigger and stronger opponents, as one powerful attack can be devastating. Fortunately, you have a powerful offense. Those kicks are both swift and powerful. I have no doubt that if you land it just right, your kicks are capable of breaking an arm or a leg. If you can cripple an opponent, you've pretty much won the match. Just don't let your guard down until the opponent is down though. Understood?" Ryu asked.

"Yes sir! Thank you!" She replied.

"You are dismissed." He said and the two bowed to each other.

With Ike and Lucina gone, Link was the last one to be judged. Snake stepped forward and examined him. Of the three, Link was objectively doing the best in the fight. Seemed like Link didn't limit his training to just the training ground. He sure wasn't lying about wanting to get stronger. Snake really respected that resolve. Of course, what else was he to expect from the man who possessed the Triforce of Courage.

"You did good out there Link. The best way to describe you is a good all-around fighter." Snake started.

"Thanks, but what do you mean by that?"

"It means that unlike Ike or Lucina, you're not lacking in any departments. Your speed, power, endurance and technique are all equal. You may not excel in any of those categories, but you are proficient in all of them. I guess you could say you're a jack-of-all-trades." Snake said. "You should continue to practice on your fundamentals. You seem to be doing a good job of that. Once you've got that mastered, we'll work on teaching you new techniques."

"Got it. Thank you Snake!" Link replied.

"Dismissed."

With that, Link left the training area. The other three began to take their leave as well.

"I think we made some progress today." Ryu smiled.

"Indeed." Lucario replied. Snake simply responded with an approving grunt. With the training session over, Snake thought about the next thing on his to-do list. He turned to Lucario.

"Hey Lucario, can you do something for me?" He asked.

"Of course. What is it?"

"Tell the others I'll be back in a few hours. There's somewhere I gotta go."

"All right. But may I ask where exactly you're going?" Lucario asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm going to have a chat with Deacon."

* * *

A few hours later, Snake had made it to the top of Deacon's mountain. Of course, like always, Deacon sensed his presence as he was coming.

"Looks like you've succeeded yet again." Deacon chuckled.

"I just did what needed to be done." Snake replied, showing his disdain for being praised.

"Of course. But the bottom line is you've rid this world of a great evil. We can agree on that."

"Are you sure that he's dead for real this time?" Snake questioned.

"How did you kill him?"

"I threw him into a vat of molten steel. Basically, put him in bathtub full of lava."

"Then yes, I think it's safe to believe he's not coming back. If there's nothing left of him, there's no way he can be brought back. And even if there's a piece of him still remaining, there would be no one to put him back together. While you were dealing with him, your allies destroyed what was left of his organization. Many of them decided to join the UR, as they were only under Deathborn due to his coercion. I think their scientist would be a great addition to your group." Deacon explained.

"No doubt about that." Snake remarked. There was a brief silence between the two of them.

"By the way, did you manage to find Crazy Hand?" Deacon asked.

"I did, actually."

"And did you get the answers you were looking for?"

"Yeah, but they really didn't change anything." Snake somberly said, earned a confused hum from Deacon. "No big revelations. I learned things that I didn't know, but it was all things that I really could have lived without knowing. Nothing came from my desperate search for the truth. None of it will help the world."

"Are you sure about that?" Deacon questioned. "You're now the only person in this world that knows almost everything about the Catastrophe. It's a major part of this world's history. Don't you think people deserve to know?"

Snake rubbed his chin as he pondered that suggestion. "I guess you're right. They always say that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. This generation and the generations that follow deserve to know the truth, no matter how ugly it may be. The world can't have another Catastrophe."

"I agree."

Their conversation could have ended right there, but there was something Snake still needed to tell Deacon about. "There's something else I learned from Crazy that wasn't about the Catastrophe, and I think you deserve to know it."

"What would that be?" Deacon showed his curiosity.

"It's about you, and what you are."

While he hid it very well, Deacon was shocked, a chill going up his spine. Never in a million years did he think he would ever learn that information. "All right. Let's hear it."

Snake explained it all to him. How he was a creation of Crazy Hand. How he was made to be a guardian, an observer. That he was an empty set of Darknut armor given life. Deacon took it well. Truthfully, he didn't really care. He was always a bit curious about his origin, but he could go through his entire life not knowing and it wouldn't have bothered him.

"Well, thank you for telling me this." Deacon said with gratitude. "But I'm curious, did you specifically ask him about me?"

"No actually. While he was rambling about his creations, he let the fact that you're one of them slip."

"I see."

"He also said that you were his favorite creation."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Because you were the first and only thing he made that wasn't built to destroy."

It couldn't be seen because of his helmet, but behind it, there was a small smile on Deacon's face. "I see. It's somewhat comforting that I wasn't just another random invention created and forgotten."

Snake nodded in agreement. "He did make you with the hope of being able to help people. And you sure did help me and the others out. I thank you for that."

Deacon appreciated Snake's gratitude. It wasn't at all necessary, after all he didn't give Snake information for free. He had to best him a duel to earn it, something no one before then had done, but he still appreciated it. As he thought more about Crazy Hand, he let out a heavy sigh. "What a poor fool…" He lamented.

Snake raised an eyebrow at that. "Huh?"

"I can't help but feel bad for him when I put myself in his shoes. He, one of the Overseers of the world, could see that Doomsday was coming. Yet he could do nothing to prevent it, despite all of his efforts. All he could do was prepare the world for the beginning of a new age. That must have been a massive amount of grief that he carried for the rest of his days." said Deacon, expressing his pity.

"And to think he chose to carry that grief for seven years. He could've offed himself at any point, yet he chose to stay and wait to be found. There was no guarantee that anyone would search for him. I had pretty much forgotten about him. If it wasn't for Marth telling me about him before he died, I wouldn't have even searched for him." Snake admitted.

"Yes, it's difficult to understand but that should be no surprise. After all, he was crazy." Deacon chuckled.

"I guess you're right." Snake then turned and began walking away. "I'll see you around Deacon."

"Farewell Snake."

* * *

Snake walked with Peach downtown in the Capital. As an apology for him going lone wolf, he promised to take her on a date, something his not very familiar with.

"So uh…is there somewhere you want to go?" Snake asked nervously. Peach couldn't help but put her hands over her mouth and start giggling. "What's so funny?"

"You are! You've look so nervous, I've never seen you like this." Peach admitted, earning a frustrated growl from Snake. "Is this your first date or something?" She asked jokingly.

"Yeah actually." Snake answered, with Peach's expression changing into one of shock.

"Wait! Really?!"

"Is it really that surprising? Everyone knows that social interaction isn't exactly my forte."

"Alright, don't worry about that. I'll help you out!" She said cheerfully. "One of the common things that people do when they go out on a date is go out to eat." She explained. "Do you know any good restaurants?"

Snake calmed himself down a little bit. With Peach's advice, he might be able to survive this. "Yeah, I know some good places." He nodded.

"Great! Just show me the way." Peach said and held Snake's hand. Snake was perplexed by her hand intertwining with his, also getting a strange feeling. Affection, a feeling he had not felt in so many years. "Are you alright, Snake?" She asked, looking concerned and snapping Snake out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm still just getting used to this is all. Let's go." He said and began walking off with her, hand-in-hand. He took her to a nice Bar & Grill that he often went to. It was nothing fancy, nothing real special, but it was kept clean and the food was good. Peach seemed to agree, as she happily dug into her burger.

"This is fantastic! I've never had anything like it!" She exclaimed. Snake raised an eyebrow.

"Really? All that time you spent as a Princess and you've never had a good ol' hamburger?" He chuckled.

"I would always cook my own food back in the castle. I knew a lot of recipes, but a burger was never one of them." She answered.

"Well, I'm sorry you've been missing out." He said and they both began laughing.

After going to a few other places, they decided to find a nice spot of grass in a field and gazed up at the night sky together.

"I always loved looking up at the moon and the stars." Peach happily recalled.

Snake nodded. "Yeah I never really got a lot of time to take in the sights. But when I do, I always find myself getting a feeling of inner peace."

Peach looked over to Snake with a small smile, her eyes were a bit watery eyes. Peace; that was something the poor man deserved. Without thinking, she leaned over and gave Snake a small kiss on the cheek. Snake looked like a deer in the headlights. He certainly wasn't expecting that. He turned to look at Peach, who was already looking embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry. I…I j-just…" She nervously stuttered, before she just stopped the restraints of her emotions. A few tears dropped down her face. "I just wish that you could've lived a much happier life in the past!" She confessed. Snake wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to comfort her. "From just looking at your face, people can tell you had a hard life. I got that impression the first time I saw you after you rescued Zelda and I on the Halberd."

'Snake had a hard life'. Five words that summed him up to a T. But despite that, he was still here, still alive, still fighting for what he felt was right.

"Things definitely could've been better for me in the past. But my past is what it is. I've accepted that. In fact, I have no regrets about my past. It made me into the person I am today." Snake explained. "Ironically, the past several months has been the happiest time of my life." He said. Peach raised her head to look at Snake, he looked back. "Think about it, right now we're having a date in a post-apocalyptic world. We had dinner. The past is the past, I rather live in the present. And what I know is that what I'm doing here right now, being here with you, is making me very happy."

He looked at her with a smile. That smile, the smile that people rarely saw. He would grin, he would chuckle and laugh. But he would rarely smile. Now it was her turn to be surprised, as Snake leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Sorry if that was a bad kiss. It's the first one I've ever done in my life." He admitted, to which Peach could only giggle in response. "Now, if you really want to make me happy, you stop those tears. I never liked seeing you cry."

"You got it!" Peach complied and wiped away any tears left. She grabbed Snake into a hug. "Thank you, Snake!" She warmly said.

"Any time Princess. Any time."

* * *

It was several weeks later. Snake was at the training yard, watching over the soldiers training. Someone then called out to him.

"Snake!"

He turned to the voice. "Luigi?". The green clad plumber stopped in front of him. "What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"And how!" Luigi replied enthusiastically. "It's Lucas! He's awake!". Needless to say that Snake was very happy to hear the news.

"Well let's go visit him." He said and they began making their way to the lab in which he had been treated. "This must be a relief for you. You and Daisy had pretty much been at his bed side since we brought him back."

"He was a great friend of mine back then. He's such a good kid." Luigi said. "Well, was a good kid. Hard to believe he's an adult now. But I know that he's still a good to the core."

"You know, it's not inaccurate to still call him a kid." Snake said, with Luigi looking at him confused. "Sure, he's grown physically, but he's still young. He's still got a lot to learn. And maybe you could be the one to teach him."

"Yeah. That doesn't sound too bad."

They arrived at the labs, and near the room he was being taken care of by Rosalina and Robin.

"Oh! Are you both here to visit!" Rosalina smiled.

"That's right." Luigi nodded.

Snake turned to Robin. "I understand he's alright, but what exactly is his condition?"

"Well we want to keep him here another week just to make sure everything alright. Other than that, he's awake, and ready to talk. Go on inside. He really loves having visitors."

The two opened the door and looked at Lucas on the bed.

"Looks like we can have a proper reunion." Snake said. Lucas looked at the two of them with a twinkle in his eye and joyful smile.

"Luigi! Snake!" He cheered. Luigi quickly went up to Lucas and they hugged. Snake gave a small smile at the sight.

"It's good to have you back, kid." He greeted as he walked to Lucas' bedside. Though Lucas was in his twenties, and usually didn't like being referred to as 'kid' because of this, he made an exception for Snake. He formed a bond with the old soldier back when he was in Smash, as he was one of very few people that could understand and relate to the traumatic events he went through as a child. Snake helped him overcome his fears, his nightmares, and taught him that overcoming hardships would make him stronger and help him build a better future for himself. And throughout all this, Snake would often call him 'kid'. Not as an insult, or as some way of degrading him. It was more of an affectionate nickname more than anything.

"Snake! It's been too long! All these years, but you don't really look that different." Lucas said.

"You mean aside from the gray hairs?" Snake said humorously.

"Yeah aside from that." Lucas laughed. "Lucario told me that you took care of that bastard Deathborn. Is it true?"

Snake nodded. "Yeah, he's not going to be stealing people's powers anymore. And he's definitely not going to be rebuilding himself. He's done for."

"Good! He got what was coming to him!"

Snake smiled at the blonde boy, before he went back to having that stoic facial expression he's known for. "I have a question for you Lucas."

Lucas was confused by Snake's sudden serious mood. "Sure; What's up?" He replied.

"I have to ask you…do you want to join the UR?"

Lucas was further confused. "I thought I already was."

"What are you talking about Snake, of course he is!" Luigi interjected.

"No. Not yet. We don't take people in and automatically enlist them into the organization. First, they have to give us a verbal agreement that they want to join. Everyone in this organization must join of their free will." Snake explained. "So, I want to hear it straight from his mouth. Lucas; Do you wish to join the UR?"

Snake already knew the answer, but he was just following protocol. No one is exempt from it.

"Yes! I do!" Lucas eagerly answered. Luigi and Snake smiled at the boy's enthusiasm.

"I thought so. Welcome to the UR, kid."

With the efforts of Snake, his friends, and the rest of the UR, peace returned to the Wasteland. But; As they all know, peace is temporary. Eventually a new threat will rise, and Snake will be waiting for it. Only this time, he won't fight it alone…

* * *

 **Well, that's the end of the second installment in the Wasteland series. I'll be taking a break from it and work on other projects before I begin work on the new one. I don't think this one was as strong as the first one, but it did allow me to explain somethings that I'm sure some people wanted answers to. This one took a step back from all the gritty and mature material that was prevalent in the first one. The next one will be going back in that direction.**

 **Also, some of you might remember the Chaos Emeralds being mentioned in the first chapter, but were never talked about again after that. So, you might be wondering why was that brought up in the first place? Well, it wasn't important for this story, but it WILL be in the next.**

 **Another thing. Expect the next story to focus on more characters other than Snake. He's been the star for the past two stories, but I think next time the other characters deserve a fair shake.**

 **So, thank you all who read, reviewed, followed, and favorited. You know, all that stuff. I'll see you guys later. This is Seth, signing off.**


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